Shanghai-Suzhou rank one of world's largest science and technology clusters

The Shanghai-Suzhou cluster ranks sixth in the top 100 science and technology clusters in the 2022 Global Innovation Index issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Thursday.

The annual index features the innovation ecosystem performance of 132 economies based on 81 indicators, including measures of education, infrastructure and knowledge creation.

This is the first time Shanghai and Suzhou have been merged into one cluster in the report. Last year, Shanghai was eighth on the list.

"It reflects the development of the innovation strength in Shanghai and its surrounding regions," said Yu Chen, deputy director of the local intellectual property (IP) bureau. "The rise in ranking is related to the growth of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) international patent applications."

According to the report on Shanghai's IP development in 2021 released on Friday, there were 4,830 PCT international patent applications in the city last year with a year-on-year growth of 35.8 percent. The figures show the city's rapid expansion in the globalization of technological innovation.

In terms of merging Shanghai and Suzhou into one cluster in WIPO's report, Yu said it is normal, such as Japan's Tokyo-Yokohama and United States' San Jose-San Francisco, because of the development and cooperation between these cities.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai IP bureau reported it was recently given permission to examine and approve the use of the National Products of Geographical Indication based on production capacity, related product standards and enterprise scale.

In the past, all Chinese companies had to apply to the National Intellectual Property Administration for trademark use.

The move will reduce trademark approval time from months to weeks, said Gu Huirong, director of the bureau's IP protection division.

After the reform, the first batch of seven companies was recently granted the right to use the trademark "Liantang Jiaobai" (wild rice shoots in Liantang Town and its surrounding areas in Qingpu District).

As of the end of 2021, there were 18 local trademarks, such as Malu Grape, Songjiang Rice and Nanhui Peach, and nearly 140 companies were approved to use related trademarks.

Yu also revealed that the construction of the first intellectual property protection center of China in the Pudong New Area was recently completed, adding that the nation's first IP center for legitimate rights and interests in the cosmetics field will be established in Fengxian District.