Against the backdrop of a global push to cultivate new economic growth drivers and accelerate technological transformation, China’s top intellectual property regulatory body is ramping up targeted protection measures for intellectual property (IP) in fast-growing emerging sectors ranging from artificial intelligence to big data, as part of the country’s broader strategic framework to advance the development of new quality productive forces. This announcement was made by Shen Changyu, Commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), in an exclusive interview with China Daily, delivered ahead of World Intellectual Property Day, which falls annually on April 26.
Shen’s comments come just as the country prepares to launch its annual National Intellectual Property Publicity Week, a seven-day event designed to showcase China’s nationwide IP development achievements and raise public awareness of IP rights.
As global technological revolutions and industrial upgrading gain momentum, Shen explained that cutting-edge emerging technologies including AI, integrated circuits, biomedicine, quantum technology, 6G communications, and brain-computer interfaces are fundamentally reshaping global economic structures. This rapid evolution has created new, unmet requirements for robust, adaptive IP protection frameworks that can keep pace with innovation.
According to Shen, CNIPA has already rolled out a series of targeted policy measures over recent years that have delivered tangible progress toward fostering innovation and driving high-quality economic growth. Key priorities moving forward include continued refinement of IP-related legal frameworks, acceleration of trademark and patent examination workflows, and optimization of support services to facilitate IP commercialization across all emerging technology fields.
Official 2025 data underscores the rapid growth of innovation in these key sectors. Among China’s entire stock of valid invention patents, computer technology and medical technology recorded the fastest year-over-year growth rates, with the total volume of AI-related patents held in China now ranking first globally. By the end of 2025, the number of new trademark registrations linked to AI and other emerging sectors reached 324,300, pushing the total number of valid trademarks in these fields to 4.39 million — a 5.94 percent increase from 2024.
“These numbers reflect sustained market enthusiasm for trademark development in emerging areas, and demonstrate both growing innovation vitality across China’s tech ecosystem and rising awareness of trademark protection among technology enterprises,” Shen noted.
To improve both the quality and efficiency of IP examination processes, CNIPA has streamlined administrative procedures and updated core regulatory rules multiple times. Notably, the country’s patent examination guidelines have undergone three revisions — in 2019, 2023, and most recently 2025 — specifically to address the unique challenges posed by AI-related patent applications.
“The 2025 revision introduces a dedicated standalone section for artificial intelligence and big data for the first time, with a strong emphasis on integrating ethical oversight into the examination process,” Shen explained. “It clarifies that all core technical applications must align with existing legal standards, social morality, and public interest, so we can build strong safety guardrails that support the healthy development of the AI sector.”
CNIPA is also actively involved in updating higher-level national legislation to address new industry needs. The agency is contributing to revisions of China’s Trademark Law and the Integrated Circuit Layout Design Protection Regulation, efforts designed to respond to public concerns and create clear legal support for the development and protection of core domestic technologies. Last year, the draft Trademark Law revision completed its first reading before the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative body. The draft targets longstanding issues such as malicious trademark registration and trademark misuse, directly addressing the urgent need for stronger protection of AI-driven innovation, according to Shen.
In a further practical adjustment to accommodate new sectors, CNIPA has added 890 standardized goods and service classification items specifically for big data, AI, and other emerging industries. “This reform resolves pressing on-the-ground problems, including the lack of corresponding classification categories for trademark registration in new fields and unclear boundaries for IP protection,” Shen said. “By cutting branding costs for businesses and reducing the risk of IP infringement, this move ultimately optimizes both the innovation and business environment, providing solid IP support for the healthy, orderly growth of strategic emerging and future-focused industries.”
These efficiency-focused reforms have already delivered measurable results. In 2025, China’s average trademark examination period held steady at four months, while the average invention patent review period was cut to 15 months. Both examination timelines are the fastest of any major global economy for IP review processes of this scale, Shen added.
Commissioner Shen also highlighted the critical economic role of IP commercialization, noting that it serves as the key bridge between raw innovation and real-world industrial application, making it a core priority for developing new quality productive forces. In 2025 alone, CNIPA accredited 65 new specialized centers dedicated to supporting IP commercialization, 48 of which focus specifically on emerging industries. These centers are designed to promote synergistic development between IP creation and industrial growth.
Over the course of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), CNIPA delivered specialized public IP services — including IP search and analysis, industry navigation, infringement early warning, overseas IP rights protection, and targeted training — to more than 50,000 domestic enterprises across the country.
On the international stage, China has actively pursued multilateral and bilateral exchanges and cooperation on emerging IP governance issues. By working closely with the World Intellectual Property Organization and foreign IP offices to coordinate global AI governance frameworks, China aims to ensure its perspective is heard and its influence expands in the global IP landscape, Shen said.
Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Shen confirmed that CNIPA will continue to center its work on addressing core innovation challenges in emerging fields. The agency will continuously refine IP-related legal and regulatory frameworks while proactively tracking evolving global industry trends to keep pace with rapid technological change.