On June 25th, Chinas National Intellectual Property Administration revealed the list of the 22nd China Patent Awards, an official regulator for protecting and managing intellectual property (rights). Statistically, a sum of 68 patents rooted in Foshan is upon the list, 20 recipients more than last year, which marks a major breakthrough as of R&D progress.

Out of 68 award-winning patents, more than a half are registered in Shunde District. On the enterprise end, Midea Group has stood out as the biggest winner, boasting 23 self-owned patents taking home the honor. As a subsidiary of the group, Midea Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd. was the only candidate from Foshan to win China Patent Silver Award this year, with its groundbreaking patented "air conditioners with hidden air outlet".

Patent is legitimately a fundamental intellectual property right that mirrors technological innovation capacity and strong market influence of a city. As a national model city of intellectual property rights, Foshan is home to a mass of registered intellectual property rights, outnumbering most prefecture-level cities in the Pearl River Delta and even others all across China.

In 2020, 94,526 applications were submitted for registered patents, out of which 18,006 were for invention patent applications. A total of 73,870 patents have been authorized, among which 5,652 were invention patents, with a year-on-year increase of 25.74% and 23.35% respectively. 

The list of the 22nd China Patent Award is as follows:

Author | Jersey 

Revisor | Ivy, Jessica, Eleanor 

Photo | Foshan Daily