Abstract
Intellectual property (IP) can be a main driver of regional technology innovation and economic development, but the IP needs of different regions vary. Invention patents have a significant influence on industrialized regions, especially new product and technological development in heavier industries. However, the cultivation of ‘light IP’ (designs, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, trade secrets, utility models, and new plant varieties) may be preferred over invention patents in regions rich in environmental resources and traditional culture, and where there is a desire to protect natural resources. Taking the green economic development of Lishui Prefecture in Zhejiang Province as a case study, the authors analyze how policies to encourage development and utilization of light IP enable the regional protection of the environment as well as economic growth. The approach of Lishui Prefecture is shown as an alternative development strategy to simply following central government-level advice to stimulate invention patents, and one that is useful for regions in China that are less industrialized but have rich natural resources.
Jin Zongzhen, Assistant Professor, China National Institute of Standardization; Ph.D. candidate, Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Policy and Management
Liu Haibo, Professor, Institute of Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The same findings are found to be particularly prominent in relation to small and medium enterprises (Sui et al. 2005; Yuan and Liu 2014; Sukarmijan and Sapong 2014); (SCT). It is clear from the previously mentioned studies that what small- and medium-sized enterprises need the most in order to produce new products and expand their markets, are utility model and design patents, and copyright protection.
- 3.
Industrial external-design means the IP highly related to product trade, and which makes the product visually appealing to the customer. This IP can include utility model patents, design patents, trademarks, and software copyrights, etc.
- 4.
There are 31 provinces in China. In order to easily analyze the economic decentralization, the provinces of China are divided into three groups according to their per capital GDP. The high-income group covers the top ten provinces of Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Fujian, Guangdong and Shandong; the middle-income group includes Jilin, Chongqing, Hubei, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Hunan, Hebei, Qinghai, Hainan; the third income group consists of Heilongjiang, Henan, Shanxi, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Guangxi, Xizang, Yunnan, Guizhou and Gansu.
- 5.
Chuzhou is the ancient name of Lishui City.
- 6.
Rules of Enterprises’ IPR management are the first Chinese national standards concerning enterprises’ IPR management, and were drafted and issued by SIPO in 2013 [http://www.cneip.org.cn/zt/gb/].
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Jin, Z., Liu, H. (2016). Invention Patents Are Not for Everyone: Developing Less Industrialized Regions in China with ‘Light’ Intellectual Property. In: Prud’homme, D., Song, H. (eds) Economic Impacts of Intellectual Property-Conditioned Government Incentives. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1119-1_12
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