People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts), Administrative Committees of Quanzhou Development Zone and Quanzhou Taiwanese Investment Zone, all departments and directly affiliated agencies of the Municipal People’s Government, major enterprises, and institutions of higher education:
To implement the strategic directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council regarding the development of a strong nation in intellectual property and the strengthening of intellectual property protection, to promote the high-quality development of intellectual property in Quanzhou, and to provide intellectual property safeguards and support for building Quanzhou into a renowned city along the Maritime Silk Road, a leading city in intelligent manufacturing, and a city of quality, the following opinions are hereby formulated:
I. Objectives and Tasks
Focusing on the strategic deployment of our city’s “6-3-5” new industrial system, by 2023, the quality of intellectual property creation, the benefits of its utilization, the capacity for protection, and the level of management and services in Quanzhou will be significantly enhanced. The role of intellectual property in strengthening, building, and supplementing industrial chains, promoting low-carbon, intensive, and green development, and leading the innovative development of industries and enterprises will become increasingly evident.The number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people citywide will reach 4; the number of valid registered trademarks will reach 700,000; the number of copyright registrations will reach 480,000; the number of geographical indication trademarks and protected products will reach 63; the number of intellectual property pilot, demonstration, and leading enterprises (units) at all levels will reach 620; and the total amount of intellectual property pledge financing will reach 10 billion yuan.The number of intellectual property rights protection assistance and mediation (arbitration) cases reached 360, and the number of patent agencies reached 36.
II. Key Measures
(I) Promoting High-Quality Intellectual Property Creation
1. Establish and improve mechanisms for high-quality creation. Establish a high-quality creation mechanism centered on enterprises and market-oriented, guiding various innovation entities—including enterprises, universities, and research institutes—to carry out industrial collaborative technological innovation around our city’s “6-3-5” new industrial system and cultivate high-value patents.Select no more than 5 high-value patent cultivation projects annually and provide funding subsidies based on project type: 500,000 yuan for innovation-leading projects, 400,000 yuan for risk-mitigation projects, and 300,000 yuan for transformation and upgrading projects.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau, Development and Reform Commission, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Education Bureau; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts); Administrative Committees of Quanzhou Development Zone and Quanzhou Taiwanese Investment Zone [Hereinafter, “People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts); Administrative Committees of Quanzhou Development Zone and Quanzhou Taiwanese Investment Zone” shall be implied and need not be listed separately]
2. Strengthen the evaluative focus on invention patents. In the implementation of the “Promoting Innovation and Application” and “Prioritizing Leading Enterprises, Strengthening Brands, and Building Industrial Chains” special campaigns, as well as in the recognition and evaluation of engineering research centers (laboratories), enterprise technology centers, and industry technology development bases, the output and utilization of invention patents shall be treated as key criteria and evaluation indicators. Funds for various technological innovation projects shall be directed toward enterprises, institutions, key laboratories, and various technology (innovation) centers that generate a high volume of high-quality invention patents and effectively utilize them.
Responsible Units: Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Development and Reform Commission, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Education Bureau, Market Regulation Bureau
3. Cultivate patent-intensive industries. Promote the application of patent navigation in the development of “635” industries, conduct patent navigation for industrial planning, and foster patent-intensive industries that align with industrial innovation and development. Each year, support 2–3 key industries with a solid patent foundation to carry out patent navigation projects for industrial planning, with a subsidy of 200,000 yuan per project.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau
4. Foster enterprises with strong intellectual property capabilities. Guide leading industrial enterprises to leverage the combined effects of various types of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Deepen the implementation of the intellectual property strategy initiative for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cultivate “Little Giant” enterprises—specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative SMEs—with intellectual property advantages. Encourage patent-intensive enterprises to conduct enterprise operations-oriented patent navigation. Select no more than 5 enterprise operations-oriented patent navigation projects annually, with a subsidy of 100,000 yuan per project.
Responsible Units: Municipal Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau), Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Development and Reform Commission, Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau
5. Strengthen the Cultivation of Well-Known Trademark Brands. Leverage Quanzhou’s trademark brand advantages, strengthen the protection of well-known trademarks, and develop and preserve traditional brands and time-honored businesses to enhance the competitiveness and market value of trademark brands. Encourage enterprises to utilize international trademark registration to expand into overseas markets and cultivate internationally renowned trademark brands. For Quanzhou enterprise trademarks newly granted well-known trademark protection by the National Intellectual Property Administration, a subsidy of 300,000 yuan will be provided per trademark.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Commerce Bureau
6. Foster a regional brand economy. Leverage the brand advantages of the “Quanzhou: World Maritime Trade Center of Song and Yuan China” heritage project to actively explore new models for the cultivation, protection, utilization, and management of heritage project trademarks and brands.Promote the registration of collective trademarks and certification trademarks by relevant industry associations or other organizations to build industrial cluster brands and regional brands. Encourage local specialty agricultural products to apply for registration as geographical indication trademarks, protected geographical indication products, and registered agricultural geographical indication products, thereby enhancing the influence of geographical indication brands and the added value of products. For each protected geographical indication product newly approved by the National Intellectual Property Administration, the applicant will receive a reward of 300,000 yuan.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
7. Promote the development of the copyright industry. Fully leverage the positive role of copyright in driving economic development and cultural prosperity, and enhance independent innovation capabilities. A one-time reward of 300,000 yuan will be granted to entities newly designated as National Copyright Demonstration Zones; a one-time reward of 200,000 yuan will be granted to entities newly designated as National Copyright Demonstration Units; and a one-time reward of 300,000 yuan will be granted to entities or individuals newly awarded the China Copyright Protection Gold Award.Enterprises or individuals whose annual copyright work registration volume ranks among the top 3 in the city will receive rewards of 50,000 yuan, 30,000 yuan, and 20,000 yuan, respectively.
Responsible Unit: Municipal Party Committee Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau)
(2) Promoting the High-Efficiency Utilization of Intellectual Property
8. Encourage enterprises to purchase invention patents. Guide enterprises in introducing advanced patented technologies and external R&D resources; implement a “challenge-based recruitment” system; establish industry-academia-research collaboration mechanisms; and improve the precision of patent matching.For Quanzhou enterprises purchasing invention patents—provided the transaction is non-affiliated, the patent is commercialized and implemented in Quanzhou, and the transaction is registered with a technical contract certification and registration authority—a subsidy of 10% of the actual transaction amount will be granted for annual invention patent transactions totaling 200,000 yuan (inclusive) or more, with a maximum annual subsidy of 300,000 yuan per enterprise.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Science and Technology Bureau
9. Promote the transfer and commercialization of patents from universities and research institutes. Encourage universities and research institutes to establish disclosure systems for scientific and technological achievements created in the course of employment, reform revenue distribution mechanisms, and stimulate the motivation for intellectual property transfer and commercialization. For patent achievements resulting from research projects supported by municipal fiscal funds that have clear market application prospects but have not been commercialized within two years, auction or open licensing is encouraged.Support the commercialization and implementation of invention patents from universities and research institutes in Quanzhou. For non-related-party transactions registered with a technical contract certification and registration authority, where the annual actual transaction value of invention patents is 500,000 yuan or more, a reward of 10% of the actual transaction amount will be granted, with a maximum annual reward of 300,000 yuan per institution.
Responsible Agencies: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Education Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau, Industry and Information Technology Bureau
10. Encourage the establishment of intellectual property (IP) management agencies in Quanzhou. Efforts are encouraged to attract IP management agencies to establish operations in Quanzhou to acquire and manage key core patent technologies for the industry.Intellectual property operation agencies that introduce and facilitate the commercialization and implementation of 50 or more invention patents in Quanzhou annually, or facilitate the licensing or transfer of invention patents with an actual transaction value of 5 million yuan (inclusive) or more—provided such transactions are registered with the technical contract certification and registration authority, constitute non-affiliated transactions, and result in commercialization and implementation—shall be granted a reward equivalent to 5% of the actual transaction value, with a maximum annual reward of 300,000 yuan per agency.
Responsible Agencies: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau, Industry and Information Technology Bureau
11. Rewards for Outstanding Patent Implementation Projects. The Quanzhou Patent Awards will be organized every two years, featuring the Major Invention Patent Award and First, Second, and Third Prizes, with awards of 1 million yuan, 200,000 yuan, 100,000 yuan, and 50,000 yuan, respectively.
For projects implemented in Quanzhou City that receive the China Patent Gold, Silver, or Excellence Awards, prizes will be awarded according to the standards of the Quanzhou Patent Award for Major Invention Patents, First Prize, and Second Prize, respectively; for projects receiving the China Design Gold, Silver, or Excellence Awards, prizes will be awarded according to the standards of the Quanzhou Patent Award for First, Second, and Third Prizes, respectively;For projects receiving the Special Prize or First Prize of the Fujian Provincial Patent Award, the prize money shall be awarded according to the standards for the Major Invention Patent Award and First Prize of the Quanzhou Municipal Patent Award, respectively. If a project receives both the China Patent Award and the Fujian Provincial Patent Award in the same year, the awards may be combined; if a project receives both the China Patent Award (or Fujian Provincial Patent Award) and the Quanzhou Municipal Patent Award in the same year, the award shall be based on the higher amount and shall not be combined.
For high-value patents introduced to Quanzhou that are successfully implemented locally and receive the China Patent Award or the Fujian Provincial Patent Award, with particularly outstanding results, an industrialization support grant of up to 1 million yuan may be awarded following an organizational assessment.
Responsible Unit: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau
12. Promote the integrated development of patents and technical standards. Guide enterprises to establish mechanisms for the coordinated development of patents and technical standards, strengthen patent protection during the standard-setting process, and promote the industrial application of innovative achievements. For core patent technologies incorporated into technical standards that become group standards, the leading entity in the standard-setting process will be awarded 30,000 yuan per standard upon review.
Responsible Unit: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau
13. Cultivate Intellectual Property Demonstration and Advantage Enterprises. Deepen the implementation of intellectual property pilot and demonstration initiatives. Enterprises newly designated as National Intellectual Property Demonstration Enterprises will receive a reward of 100,000 yuan; those newly designated as National Intellectual Property Advantage Enterprises will receive a reward of 50,000 yuan.
Responsible Agency: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau
14. Implement interest subsidies for intellectual property pledge financing.Launch the “Enterprise Park Benefit” initiative for intellectual property pledge financing. For small, medium, and micro enterprises (including farmers with geographical indication trademark pledge loans) that obtain financing from commercial banks or financial leasing companies through intellectual property pledge financing or by leveraging such pledges to increase financing limits, and who make timely and regular repayments, interest subsidies will be provided at 30% of the one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) in January of the repayment year; if the actual interest rate is lower than the LPR, the subsidy will be based on 30% of the actual rate.For the interest portion of financial leasing fees, the subsidy shall be 30% of the one-year LPR. The subsidy period shall not exceed one year from the date the financing is fully repaid, with a maximum annual subsidy of 200,000 yuan per enterprise.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Development and Reform Commission, People’s Bank of China Quanzhou Central Branch, and Quanzhou Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau
15. Promote financial innovation in intellectual property. Operate and improve the risk compensation mechanism for intellectual property pledge financing. For issuers of intellectual property securitization products based on intellectual property assets that are offered in an initial public offering (IPO), a certain amount of reward will be granted on a case-by-case basis. For enterprises that obtain financing through intellectual property securitization, a subsidy of 2% of the actual financing amount will be provided after the principal and interest are repaid upon project maturity, with a maximum subsidy of 300,000 yuan per enterprise.Leverage the role of the Intellectual Property Operation Fund to support activities such as strategic repositioning, commercial development, and the introduction of high-quality innovation projects in intellectual property operations through equity investment.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Financial Regulation Bureau, People’s Bank of China Quanzhou Central Branch, and Quanzhou Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau
16. Provide subsidies for enterprises purchasing intellectual property insurance. For insurance services related to intellectual property pledge financing—such as guarantee insurance, insurance against losses from intellectual property infringement, and liability insurance for infringement—where the premium for a single policy exceeds 1,500 yuan, a subsidy of 50% of the premium amount will be provided, with a maximum annual subsidy of 50,000 yuan per enterprise.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Quanzhou Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau
(III) Promoting High-Standard Intellectual Property Protection
17. Enforce strict intellectual property protection. Increase penalties for acts such as source infringement, repeated infringement, and malicious infringement in key industries and sectors. Strengthen judicial protection of intellectual property, strictly enforce the punitive damages system for intellectual property infringement, and strictly implement the criteria for criminalizing intellectual property infringement offenses.
Responsible Units: Municipal Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau), Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Public Security Bureau, Municipal Intermediate People’s Court, People’s Procuratorate, Quanzhou Customs
18. Establish a comprehensive intellectual property protection framework. Support the courts in applying to establish the Quanzhou Intellectual Property Court. Comprehensive use of legal, administrative, economic, technical, and social governance measures to improve the protection system across all stages—including examination and authorization, administrative law enforcement, judicial protection, arbitration and mediation, industry self-regulation, and public integrity—to build a comprehensive protection framework.
Responsible Units: Municipal Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau), Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Development and Reform Commission, Public Security Bureau, Justice Bureau, Municipal Intermediate People’s Court, People’s Procuratorate, and Quanzhou Customs
19. Improve the Collaborative Intellectual Property Protection System. Strengthen the construction and operation of the China (Quanzhou) Intellectual Property Protection Center, and encourage all counties (cities, districts) to actively apply for the designation of National-Level Intellectual Property Rapid Rights Protection Centers and Provincial-Level Intellectual Property Protection Centers. Advance the development of National Geographical Indication Product Protection Demonstration Zones. Establish intellectual property protection workstations (which will also serve as trademark and brand guidance stations). Select no more than five outstanding intellectual property protection workstations annually, awarding each with a grant of 50,000 yuan.Encourage well-known domestic and international law firms specializing in intellectual property to establish offices in Quanzhou, and encourage intellectual property lawyers to work in Quanzhou. For intellectual property rights holders who successfully assert their rights through proactive measures and are included in the annual typical intellectual property case lists of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Intellectual Property Administration, the National Copyright Administration, the Supreme People’s Court, or the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, a one-time reward of 100,000 yuan will be granted to the rights holder, limited to one reward per rights holder per year.
Responsible Units: Municipal Party Committee Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau), Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Justice Bureau, Municipal Intermediate People’s Court, Municipal People’s Procuratorate, Quanzhou Customs
20. Enhance the “integration of litigation and mediation” for intellectual property. Broaden the channels for intellectual property rights holders to protect their rights swiftly and in accordance with the law, and establish a coordinated mechanism linking people’s mediation, administrative mediation, and judicial mediation. Leverage the role of the Quanzhou Municipal People’s Mediation Committee for Intellectual Property Disputes, and encourage social organizations such as industry associations and chambers of commerce to establish mediation bodies to conduct mediation of intellectual property disputes.
Responsible Units: Municipal Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau), Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Justice Bureau, Municipal Intermediate People’s Court, Quanzhou Customs
21. Establish the Quanzhou Intellectual Property Expert Pool. Establish an intellectual property expert pool and invite intellectual property experts to assist in administrative adjudication and mediation of intellectual property disputes. Units responsible for patent administrative law enforcement shall provide appropriate subsidies to experts who provide infringement determination consultation services during case investigations, in accordance with the management regulations for scientific and technological expert review and consultation fees.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau
(IV) Promoting High-Level Intellectual Property Services
22. Expand the supply of intellectual property services. Strengthen the construction of Quanzhou’s intellectual property public service platform and advance the development of public service outlets for intellectual property information. Integrate with the “Zhichuang China” and “Zhichuang Fujian” public service platforms and operate the “Zhichuang Quanzhou” intellectual property operation platform.Advance the development of the Zhichuang Industrial Park and intellectual property service industry clusters, and support the establishment of high-end intellectual property service institutions in Quanzhou. For patent agencies newly approved by the National Intellectual Property Administration starting in 2021 that employ five or more patent agents, a one-time reward of 100,000 yuan will be granted to the new agency. For intellectual property operation agencies with annual main business revenue reaching 10 million yuan, a one-time reward of 200,000 yuan will be granted.
Responsible Units: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Education Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau, Culture and Tourism Bureau
23. Enhance intellectual property management capabilities. Encourage enterprises, universities, and research institutes to improve their intellectual property management systems. For those passing the national intellectual property management system audit and certification for the first time, a subsidy of 50% of the actual certification costs will be provided, with a maximum subsidy of 30,000 yuan per entity.
Responsible Agencies: Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Education Bureau, Science and Technology Bureau
24. Accelerate the cultivation of intellectual property talent. Implement an intellectual property talent development program. Relying on relevant universities, establish intellectual property talent training bases; encourage universities to establish intellectual property colleges and offer practical courses in intellectual property information analysis and operations; and support research on intellectual property-related topics.Starting in 2021, a one-time reward of 5,000 yuan will be granted to each in-service employee of an enterprise who has worked continuously for at least one year and has newly obtained a patent agent qualification certificate. Those who already hold a patent agent qualification certificate and have newly obtained a legal professional qualification certificate will receive a one-time reward of 3,000 yuan.
Responsible Units: Municipal Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau), Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Education Bureau, Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau
25. Strengthen intellectual property awareness campaigns. Incorporate intellectual property into the content of the “Eighth Five-Year” legal education campaign. Enhance intellectual property education and training for officials. Promote the development of a team of public interest lawyers within intellectual property management departments and conduct specialized intellectual property training. Implement intellectual property education in primary and secondary schools, encourage schools to organize practical activities centered on invention and innovation, and raise intellectual property awareness among young people.
Responsible Units: Municipal Publicity Department (Copyright Bureau), Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, Municipal Justice Bureau, Municipal Education Bureau
III. Support Measures
26. Strengthen organizational leadership. Enhance collaboration and coordination among municipal departments to form a cohesive working force. Relevant departments at all levels must attach great importance to intellectual property work and clarify the division of responsibilities. Establish a working mechanism to link and coordinate regional policies, special policies, and intellectual property policies to promote the high-quality development of intellectual property.
Responsible Units: All member units of the Municipal Intellectual Property Work Leading Group
27. Strengthen Resource Support. The people’s governments of all counties (cities, districts), as well as the administrative committees of the Quanzhou Development Zone and the Quanzhou Taiwanese Investment Zone, shall, based on local conditions, increase support for intellectual property work and improve the system for ensuring financial funding. Comprehensive use of relevant fiscal, tax, investment, and financing policies shall be made to form a diversified, multi-channel funding system to ensure the implementation of work objectives.
Responsible Units: People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts), Administrative Committees of Quanzhou Development Zone and Quanzhou Taiwanese Investment Zone, Municipal Finance Bureau, Financial Regulatory Bureau, and Quanzhou Branch of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission
28. Strengthen Evaluation and Supervision. The Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, in conjunction with relevant departments, shall conduct supervision and inspection of the implementation of these tasks. Governments at all levels shall intensify supervision and evaluation efforts, incorporating intellectual property work into the scope of such oversight and assessment.
Responsible Units: All member units of the Municipal Intellectual Property Work Leading Group
IV. Other Matters
29. Should there be adjustments to higher-level policies during the implementation of these guidelines, the provisions of the higher-level documents shall prevail. For projects of the same category within the same fiscal year, priority shall be given to national and provincial policies; municipal-level policies shall not be applied in conjunction with them. Entities that have already received rewards or subsidies from other levels of government shall not be eligible for duplicate rewards or subsidies.
30. These Guidelines shall take effect on the date of issuance and remain valid for three years. The “Opinions of the Quanzhou Municipal People’s Government on Strengthening Trademark and Brand Development” (Quanzhou Government Document [2018] No. 70) is hereby repealed. Projects eligible for rewards or subsidies under Quanzhou Government Document [2018] No. 70 in 2021 shall be reported and settled in 2022. The Quanzhou Municipal Market Regulation Bureau is responsible for interpreting these Guidelines.
