The number of valid invention patents in China had exceeded 4.99 million by the end of 2023, the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) said on Tuesday.

The number of valid trademarks in the country has reached 46.15 million, said Hu Wenhui, deputy head of NIPA, at a press conference, detailing advances made by China in 2023 in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR).

A total of 921,000 invention patents were authorized in 2023, while about 74,000 international patent applications were filed via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), he added.

Some 4.38 million trademarks were registered in the country in 2023. A total of 6,196 international trademark applications were received through the Madrid System during the year.

In addition, China had approved a total of 2,508 geographical indication (GI) products by the end of 2023, with the annual output value of GI products exceeding 800 billion yuan (about 112.46 billion U.S. dollars).

The country registered 11,000 integrated circuit (IC) layout designs in 2023, with the accumulated amount of registered IC layout designs hitting 72,000.

Last year also witnessed the building of 10 pilot zones for IPR protection across the country. The total number of IPR protection centers and rapid IPR service centers reached 112, growing by eight and seven, respectively, in 2023.

Hu noted that the top three technical fields of effective invention patents in China's mainland by growth rate in 2023 were information technology management, computer technology and basic communication programs, which increased by 59.4 percent, 39.3 percent and 30.8 percent year on year, respectively.

"It shows that the country has maintained a high level of innovation in the field of digital technology, which has continuously empowered the high quality development of the digital economy," he said.

He added that enterprises are the main engine to promote innovation, as the effective invention patents of enterprises account for more than 70 percent of the country's total. Among such patents of enterprises, 73.4 percent, or 2.13 million, are from national high-tech enterprises as well as small- and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises.

When asked about the future work in 2024, Hu said that NIPA will improve the standards for patent examination in new fields such as big data, artificial intelligence and gene technology.

In terms of international cooperation, he said that China will host a high-level IPR conference for Belt and Road partner countries in 2024, with a plan to carry out more practical cooperation projects.

China will also deepen its cooperation with IPR agencies of the United States, Europe, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and enlarge the field of cooperation with other BRICS countries and the Association of South-East Asian Nations.