A Data Snapshot of China's Special Action Plan for Patent Commercialization and Utilization (2023-2025)

Source:China IP News

In 2023, the General Office of the State Council of China issued the Special Action Plan for Patent Commercialization and Utilization (2023-2025). The initiative set out a three-year special action with a focus on promoting the industrialization of patents and aimed to accelerate the commercialization and utilization of patents by improving patent quality and strengthening policy incentives. Over the past three years, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), in collaboration with 21 government departments and local authorities, has fulfilled all major targets. Let's explore its achievements through a set of key data points.

Revitalizing existing patents

●CNIPA completed the inventory and value analysis of 1.349 million existing patents held by over 2,700 universities and research institutions nationwide for the first time. Among them, 680,000 invention patents with strong commercialization potential were identified and matched precisely with 460,000 enterprises.

●Approximately 80,000 invention patents from China's universities and research institutions were successfully industrialized between 2023 and 2025.

●By the end of 2025, the industrialization rate of invention patents reached 10.1% for universities and 17.2% for research institutions, both showing significant increases compared with the period prior to the special action.

●More than 16,000 roadshows and matchmaking events, such as the "Intellectual Property Service Journey" campaign, were organized nationwide, facilitating patent transactions exceeding RMB 15 billion.

Editor's comment:

The special action has accelerated the establishment of a market-oriented mechanism for screening, matching, promoting, and tracking existing patents. Through effective alignment with enterprise demand, the industrialization rate of invention patents from China's universities and research institutions has significantly improved, with a number of high-quality existing patents identified and commercialized.

Supporting SME growth

●China implemented a plan for the industrialization of patents to promote the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), identifying nearly 9,000 high-growth SMEs for targeted support.

●Over 3,000 model SMEs in patent industrialization have been cultivated since the implementation of the special action, many of which specialize in hard-tech sectors and possess high-quality patents.

Editor's comment:

China is home to more than 60 million SMEs, many of which have a strong demand for patent commercialization. CNIPA has introduced a comprehensive package of IP and financial support measures including patent navigation and IP protection, enabling more SMEs to attract investment and scale up through innovation.

Strengthening industrial chains

●CNIPA has guided local authorities in enhancing IP-driven development across over 300 segmented industrial chains. Nearly 300 industry IP operation centers have been established, along with 281 IP innovation consortia in key sectors. Patent pool development has also been promoted in priority industries to strengthen the resilience and security of China's industrial and supply chains.

●In 2024, the added value of China's patent-intensive industries exceeded RMB 18 trillion, accounting for 13.38% of GDP, with steadily increasing contributions to economic growth.

Editor's comment:

Over the past three years, the special action has steadily advanced IP-driven initiatives to strengthen and upgrade key industries, better supporting the transformation of traditional industries, the growth of emerging industries, and the development of future industries. In particular, a number of core patents have been deployed in cutting-edge fields such as quantum technology, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G communications, laying a stronger foundation for high-value patent commercialization and utilization.

Incentivizing patent commercialization

●China has recorded 1.458 million patent assignment and licensing registrations since the launch of the special action, representing a 48% year-on-year increase, with universities and research institutions seeing a surge of 105.6%.

●In 2025, the total transaction value of technology contracts involving patents reached RMB 1.18 trillion, up 18.8% year-on-year.

Editor's comment:

To fundamentally stimulate innovation entities, the special action has reinforced the policy principle that IP must be utilized to create value. Reforms have been introduced to improve IP rights allocation mechanisms and explore due diligence exemption and fault-tolerance frameworks for patent commercialization, effectively addressing concerns among researchers.

Building a robust ecosystem

●A diversified IP financial support system has been advanced. Since the special action began, relevant authorities have issued approximately RMB 600 billion in IP pledge financing, with IP insurance coverage reaching RMB 56 billion and the scale of IP securitization products exceeding RMB 14 billion.

●In 2025, China's total imports and exports of IP royalties reached RMB 425.35 billion, up 6.7% year-on-year, with exports surging 26.3%, indicating stronger global competitiveness of Chinese innovations.

Editor's comment:

China has continuously improved the service chain for patent commercialization and utilization, leveraging professional intermediaries such as technology transfer institutions and technology managers. Through market-based mechanisms, it has mobilized innovation actors and service providers, gradually fostering a robust ecosystem for patent commercialization and utilization.

(Source: China SCIO Press Conference)