Shanghai, the leading technology research center in China, saw an average 62 new patent applications every day in 2003, an all time high.

The city received 22,374 patent applications last year, a rise of 12 percent over the previous year. Applications from universities and colleges totaled 1,794, exceeding all other institutes of higher learning in China. Applications from industrial enterprises came to 15,289, up by seven percent over a year ago.

Meanwhile, Shanghai has built ties with 16 provinces and regions to enhance an inter-regional crackdown on patent infringement.

An expert with the Shanghai Municipal Intellectual Property Rights Bureau said a big rise in patent applications showed that local technicians had a stronger sense of property rights protection.

(Shanghai Daily January 31, 2004)