IP service app to re-shape the industry

A platform providing intellectual property (IP) related services was awarded as one of the 50 highest potential demonstration service projects at the recently finished China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services last week.

Li Changqing (the second from the left), CEO of Hengguan Technology Ltd, receives the award at the ceremony of the 5th China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Bayuegua, literally meaning August melon, is a platform offering full IP protection service, from patent application, patent value assessment, patent transaction to filing a lawsuit.

Based on big data and the Internet, Bayuegua gathered 130 million patent data from 104 countries around the globe, establishing a search engine for patents.

Making a "Didi" in IP field

The platform was developed by a start-up company called Hengguan Technology Ltd.

The company was founded in August, the website and APP went online in August 2017; hence the platform’s name August melon.

Li Changqing, CEO of the company, compares Bayuegua to Didi Chuxing in IP field, connecting facilitating agencies with patent applicants or the companies that require patent transaction.

The platform takes the leading position among service providers of the same kind in China, with the advantage of one-stop service. The APP has been downloaded 500,000 times.

In the past, because of the high cost of IP services, many research institutions tend not to apply for a patent.

"Many people don't want to apply for a patent, because the service fee is high and the procedure is relatively long. When applying for a patent, some agencies charge 8,000-9,000 Yuan ($1,249-$1,405), some even charge up to 10,000-20,000 Yuan ($1,561-$3,123)," Li said.

"People don't know how much should exactly be charged and are not sure if the patent can be granted," Li added.

Targeting at going global, the platform also provides English service, helping Chinese IP owners and enterprises cooperate with foreign counterparts. Now Bayuegua has offices in different countries, such as the United States, Japan, Korea, Italy and Hungary.

Services, more services

Providing qualified services is the key to attracting more users. Developers and operators of Bayuegua know this very well. Ranging from searching to writing files, from file pre-assessment to patent strength appraisal, Bayuegua integrates more than 40 kinds of systems to provide different kinds of services that an IP applicator may need.

"After you finish the entire application file, our system will first conduct an automatic check and show the prompts to modify. Then, professionals will offer a hand to see if the protection scope is sufficient and whether it can be authorized," said Li Changqing.

According to Li, services such as search and database querying are always free of charge, while value-added services, such as patent navigation, transaction, rights protection, litigation, review and patents invalidation lawsuits, will require payments.

"Value-added services start from the application of patent protection," according to Li, "we can help our clients apply for protection, do transaction operations, manage his or her intellectual property rights, do infringement litigation, IP rights monitoring, and early warning analysis, which combined together creates a sound chain of intellectual property services."

Seeking talents to serve talents

So far, Hengguan and its product Bayuegua find few competitors on the market thanks to their ground-breaking fusion of IP data searching service and IP agency service on one platform. But still they have a long way to go in terms of clustering more resources into the platform, domestically and globally.

The first goes to talent resources. "We need innovative talents and talents who serve innovation, including S&T talents as well as S&T service personnel who provide IP services, patents and trademark agents, as well as legal services," said Li Changqing.

The second goes to the technological resources. In the near future, a variety of service-oriented software will be developed, including document software, patent management, customized early warning analysis databases. The updated techniques such as image retrieval, semantic analysis, and machine learning will be used to provide scientific researchers with the most convenient services.