China has scaled up policy support for its industrialization of patents, aiming to nurture more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the country's top intellectual property regulator.

The National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) has issued a plan in collaboration with four government departments, proposing that China raise both the intellectual property (IP) awareness and patent industrialization capacities of SMEs by 2025.

China should strengthen efforts to cultivate representative enterprises, create a group of "little giant" firms, champion enterprises specializing in niche markets and boasting cutting-edge technologies, and promote the listing of qualifying enterprises, according to the plan.

The country will work to develop a number of competitive, patent-intensive products to showcase the effectiveness of patent industrialization in realizing patent value and in improving the economic benefits and market competitiveness of enterprises.

Focusing on patent industrialization, the plan integrates the patent chain into the innovation, industrial, talent and services chains to promote the effective flow and efficient allocation of innovative resources, contributing to the rapid development and expansion of enterprises, an NIPA official said.

It also calls on the government to increase awareness of public-service IP products, expand the scope of public-service IP, and guide enterprises to make good use of public-service products.

A number of key industry databases will also be established to help reduce the thresholds and costs that SMEs face in the process of obtaining information.