On 22 July 2025, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA [ https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/ ]) released the Draft Implementation Measures for Promoting the Development of the Private Economy through Intellectual Property (the Draft Measures) for public consultation. This initiative follows the enactment of the PRC Law on Promoting the Development of the Private Economy on 20 May 2025. As the new law contains specific provisions on intellectual property (IP), the Draft Measures aim to refine and operationalize those provisions to better support the private sector - a critical engine of innovation and economic vitality in China. The Draft Measures focus on enhancing the quality, efficiency, and impact of IP creation, protection, utilization, and public services, with the ultimate goal of fostering a more dynamic and competitive private economy.
To achieve these objectives, the Draft Measures set out detailed provisions across four key areas:
Enhancing Intellectual Property Creation
The Draft Measures encourage private enterprises to strengthen independent innovation and adopt forward-looking IP strategies, particularly those that integrate IP planning with industrial development. CNIPA and local IP authorities are tasked with improving the quality and efficiency of patent and trademark examination procedures. A more proactive and diversified examination system is proposed to better serve the rights acquisition needs of market players, including private businesses.
Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection
Robust IP enforcement is a central theme in the Draft Measures. They call for stricter actions against trademark and patent infringement affecting private entities. The Measures propose leveraging national IP protection centers to offer one-stop services for fast-track examination, rights confirmation, and enforcement. Additionally, the dispute resolution framework will be expanded to include mediation and coordinated administrative, judicial, and arbitration channels. Special emphasis is also placed on helping private enterprises manage overseas IP risks through compliance guidance and risk assessment tools.
Promoting Effective Utilization of Intellectual Property
To improve commercialization outcomes, the Draft Measures encourage private enterprises to adopt diverse IP utilization strategies, including direct implementation, equity-based collaboration, licensing, and pledging. New cooperative models, such as patent pools and open licensing, are also promoted. Further, the Draft Measures support the formation of IP innovation consortia that bring together businesses, universities, research institutes, service providers, and investors. The strategic combination of patents, trademarks, and other IP rights is encouraged to foster technology-driven brand building.
Improving Public Services and Talent Support
Recognizing the critical role of public services and human capital, the Draft Measures call for upgrading IP service platforms to deliver streamlined, one-stop solutions covering information access, application processing, and data sharing. Private enterprises will be encouraged to use IP data more effectively in R&D and commercialization, and to contribute to the digitalization of service systems. On the talent side, the Draft Measures support enhanced training programs and performance evaluation mechanisms, particularly for foreign-related legal services, to strengthen private enterprises’ capacity to handle international IP matters.
Comment
The release of the Measures marks an important step in aligning China’s intellectual property policy framework more closely with the development needs of the private economy. By coordinating legal, administrative, and service-oriented approaches, the Measures provide a systematic and targeted support structure for private enterprises across all aspects of IP creation, protection, and utilization. If effectively implemented, the Measures will not only help realize the core objectives of the Private Economy Promotion Law but also significantly enhance enterprise innovation capacity and the level of IP protection both domestically and internationally, fostering a fairer, more dynamic, and sustainable business environment.
To achieve these objectives, the Draft Measures set out detailed provisions across four key areas:
Enhancing Intellectual Property Creation
The Draft Measures encourage private enterprises to strengthen independent innovation and adopt forward-looking IP strategies, particularly those that integrate IP planning with industrial development. CNIPA and local IP authorities are tasked with improving the quality and efficiency of patent and trademark examination procedures. A more proactive and diversified examination system is proposed to better serve the rights acquisition needs of market players, including private businesses.
Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection
Robust IP enforcement is a central theme in the Draft Measures. They call for stricter actions against trademark and patent infringement affecting private entities. The Measures propose leveraging national IP protection centers to offer one-stop services for fast-track examination, rights confirmation, and enforcement. Additionally, the dispute resolution framework will be expanded to include mediation and coordinated administrative, judicial, and arbitration channels. Special emphasis is also placed on helping private enterprises manage overseas IP risks through compliance guidance and risk assessment tools.
Promoting Effective Utilization of Intellectual Property
To improve commercialization outcomes, the Draft Measures encourage private enterprises to adopt diverse IP utilization strategies, including direct implementation, equity-based collaboration, licensing, and pledging. New cooperative models, such as patent pools and open licensing, are also promoted. Further, the Draft Measures support the formation of IP innovation consortia that bring together businesses, universities, research institutes, service providers, and investors. The strategic combination of patents, trademarks, and other IP rights is encouraged to foster technology-driven brand building.
Improving Public Services and Talent Support
Recognizing the critical role of public services and human capital, the Draft Measures call for upgrading IP service platforms to deliver streamlined, one-stop solutions covering information access, application processing, and data sharing. Private enterprises will be encouraged to use IP data more effectively in R&D and commercialization, and to contribute to the digitalization of service systems. On the talent side, the Draft Measures support enhanced training programs and performance evaluation mechanisms, particularly for foreign-related legal services, to strengthen private enterprises’ capacity to handle international IP matters.
Comment
The release of the Measures marks an important step in aligning China’s intellectual property policy framework more closely with the development needs of the private economy. By coordinating legal, administrative, and service-oriented approaches, the Measures provide a systematic and targeted support structure for private enterprises across all aspects of IP creation, protection, and utilization. If effectively implemented, the Measures will not only help realize the core objectives of the Private Economy Promotion Law but also significantly enhance enterprise innovation capacity and the level of IP protection both domestically and internationally, fostering a fairer, more dynamic, and sustainable business environment.