China enhances efforts to boost IP talent pool

BEIJING: China’s intellectual property (IP) talent pool had grown to 860,000 by the end of 2023, the country’s top IP regulator said Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Zhang Zhicheng, an official of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, noted that in terms of IP protection, over 30,000 professionals were engaged in administrative management and enforcement, while more than 2,200 talents staffed the established IP protection centers, significantly bolstering IP protection capabilities.
When it comes to IP applications, the country boasts 34,000 practicing patent agents and over 76,000 qualified patent agents. The number of IP experts in enterprises, universities and research institutions has significantly surged, accelerating the effective utilization of IP assets.
Internationally, about 270 talents were trained as international patent examiners. Additionally, China has selected more than 150 educators specializing in international IP affairs and 119 experts in overseas IP dispute resolution, underscoring the country’s commitment to high-level international engagement.
In response to emerging trends, efforts have been ramped up to train essential talents in IP protection, focusing on new domains such as big data and artificial intelligence, as well as handling international IP disputes.
To widen the avenues for training, there is an ongoing emphasis on developing remote IP courses. To date, 98 high-quality courses have been launched online, continuously expanding the reach of training efforts. –Agencies