High-tech Z-Park projects promoted at global event

To celebrate World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on April 26, an event aimed at promoting the commercialization and utilization of high-value patents was held by the Beijing Intellectual Property Office and the administrative committee of Zhongguancun Science Park.

Amid the current health crisis, the activity was held online via live broadcast, and included a training program for high-value patents transformation and a display of eight patents in the field of medical devices.

"Today's event plays a vital role in raising the public's IP awareness, improving IP application rates, and boosting enterprises' confidence in IP and innovations," Lei Xiaoyun, head of the IP utilization promotion department of the National Intellectual Property Administration, said in a video message.

Zhongguancun Science Park, also known as Z-Park, leads the country in IP transformation with China's first IP services alliance, first IP operation fund and an array of high-value patents in electronic information and biomedicine, Lei said. "I hope that Z-Park will continue its efforts in IP work, driving the growth of emerging industries and its development into a world-class innovation center."

Last year, the number of patent filings in Z-Park reached 97,000, up 12.3 percent year-on-year, with around 59,000 applications granted.

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak, the administrative committee, with the help of IP service organizations, has selected more than 400 high-value patents related to epidemic control and treatment.

The first batch of 50 patents with broad market prospects has been published to seek investors or partners, according to Z-Park.

With these achievements, Z-Park will strive to help enterprises enhance IP quality, promote more diversified IP transformation and build an integrated IP service system this year, said Zhai Lixin, director of the park's administrative committee.

"We plan to roll out targeted measures to push forward patent transformation," Zhai added.

These will include offering new businesses, such as IP securitization and IP-leased financing.

Centered on the theme of "IP and a healthy China", eight professionals in the sector of medical equipment showcased their patents at the event.

One of them is an intelligent planning system for vascular interventional surgery developed by Chen Duanduan, a professor at Beijing Institute of Technology, and her research team, involving four invention patents.

The system integrates intelligent diagnosis, preoperative planning, postoperative prognosis and risk assessment, Chen said. "It can serve the treatment of vascular diseases and interventional therapy."

According to Chen's plan, the technology is expected to be utilized widely by 2023.