A one-stop platform for startups to leverage

To protect the intellectual property rights of innovation-oriented enterprises in the Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone, Shanghai Jingyuan Group will be establishing an IP ecosphere for startups in the zone.

The private-owned company, which is focused on IP services, has taken advantage of resources from high-end service organizations to form an IP rights service association that provides services including IP development, IP protection, patent design and credit rating.

"This is like setting up a community that offers IP related services for newly established technology companies that don't have enough assets and capital to protect their core technologies," said Qiu Kejun, the general manager of Shanghai Jingyuan Group.

The IP service innovative community created by Jingyuan assists its members with the launch, protection, management, application and transfer of IP rights in all aspects. Unlike a traditional patent agency, Jingyuan offers both online and offline whole industry chain services to its members

Jingyuan's service platform currently has more than 20,000 registered members and the number is expected to exceed 40,000 by the end of this year. The company has also extended its services to cities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong provinces for around 35,000 technology enterprises there.

Qiu said that domestic firms are now placing more emphasis on the safeguarding of their IPs as compared to the past, when about 70 percent of their members were foreign enterprises. Today, the majority of their members are privately owned enterprises, with foreign companies accounting for just one third of the membership.

In addition, Jingyuan helps large domestic enterprises to output their technologies and IP rights, such as those pertaining to intelligent manufacturing technologies like solar and wind energy, to overseas markets.

For smaller startups, Jingyuan focuses more on how to incubate their intellectual properties for practical use in potential projects. Jingyuan Group has also founded a financial platform that helps lessen the financial burden on startups, so that they can focus on the research and development of innovative products.

"Our platform has the role of recognizing the patents and innovative ideas from newly launched enterprises and putting them into production to benefit society as a whole," said Qiu.

With the aim of becoming the largest IP rights service platform in China within three years, Jingyuan plans to serve 200,000 enterprises from all industries, offer training to over 15,000 IP experts, attract over 300 overseas management talents, as well as invest in and introduce more than 300 IP projects.

There were 12 measures listed in the guidance regarding the application of IP rights, which was released by the municipal government in April. Among them was the establishment of an IP trading center to promote IP creation and industrialization. The center will be launched later this year.

"We plan to build such a trading platform to help small and micro-sized enterprises raise funds for their research and design of IP patents, as well as to assist them in transforming their patents into products," said Lyu Guoqiang, the director of Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration at the news conference for the document release.