- City accelerates approvals and boosts high-value filings
- Data rights, financing tools anchor broader AI push
Hangzhou is looking to surpass 33,000 valid invention patents in AI by the end of 2026, as the city steps up efforts to strengthen intellectual property (IP) support for its fast-growing AI sector.
The target was unveiled on April 27 at a local Intellectual Property Promotion Week event, where regulators introduced a new policy package to bolster AI innovation.
The measures also set a goal of exceeding 18,000 registered data IP rights.
Under the plan, authorities will speed up patent approvals and improve filing quality, targeting a 25% increase in AI-related pre-examination cases this year while cutting average authorization times by more than 80%.
Hangzhou also aims to cultivate over 18,000 high-value patents through dedicated programs, but officials fell short of defining “high-value” at the conference.
They said patent navigation initiatives will focus on emerging fields including embodied intelligence, brain-inspired computing and general-purpose models, mapping out innovation across industrial supply chains to strengthen weak links and extend capabilities.
The framework also includes building an IP services system combining operating centers, industry alliances and navigation hubs, alongside a new financial model integrating investment, lending, insurance and valuation services.
Separately, Hangzhou plans to develop trusted data spaces and simulation training platforms for embodied AI, expand targeted advisory services and establish a three-tier support network, while exploring new IP protection rules tailored to AI.
At the same event, the city launched an IP service month, during wchi 100 specialists will be dispatched to provide on-site support to technology-focused small and medium-sized enterprises, with a goal of delivering effective services to 1,000 such companies.
Since launching a national pilot for data intellectual property reform in 2022, Hangzhou has registered 15,800 data IP assets—accounting for 52% of the provincial total.
They span applications in finance, cross-border trade, industrial development, public health and urban governance, officials said.
