What is the implementation method of the Dongguan Patent Promotion Project? Evaluation of the implementation method of the Dongguan Patent Promotion Project

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the relevant documents issued by the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government in order to improve the efficiency of the use of special funds for patent promotion projects in Dongguan City, standardize the management of patent promotion projects, and promote the development of the patent cause in our city.

Article 2 The special funds for patent promotion projects referred to in these Measures refer to the special funds allocated by the municipal government from the special funds for the "Science and Technology Dongguan" project every year to strengthen the development of the city's patent industry.

Article 3 The patent promotion projects referred to in these Measures include invention patent funding projects, intellectual property enterprise cultivation projects, patent operation funding projects, patent financial funding projects, patent award supporting reward projects, high-value patent cultivation projects, patent public service projects and patent protection projects, etc.

Article 4 The management of special funds for patent promotion projects shall comply with the principles of scientific arrangement, compliance with laws and regulations, highlighting key points, clear rights and responsibilities, standardized management, performance priority, and fairness and openness.

Article 5 The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau) shall be responsible for the specific management of special funds according to the division of labor; it shall be responsible for the formulation and revision of specific management measures for special funds, application for establishment and adjustment of special funds, declaration of special fund budget, preparation of special fund allocation and use plan, handling of special fund disbursement, organization of project application, document review, organization of project acceptance, and project review work shall be organized and implemented in accordance with the provisions of the "Science and Technology Dongguan" Engineering Funding Project Expert Review Management Measures; it shall be responsible for the safe use of special funds, special fund supervision and inspection, special fund performance evaluation, and special fund information disclosure in accordance with the principle of "whoever uses it, is responsible for it".

Article 6 The Municipal Finance Bureau is responsible for formulating the budget management of special financial funds, organizing the preparation and implementation of special fund budgets; reviewing the compliance of special fund arrangement plans prepared by municipal-level business competent departments, and issuing special fund use plans; organizing and implementing special fund financial supervision and inspection and key performance evaluation, etc.

Article 7 Special funds implement a double-entry approval system for annual usage quotas and specific project plans. The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau studies and proposes annual tasks based on the annual budget control quota, departmental development plans and the degree of achievement of their goals, and the annual key tasks determined by the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. When applying for the next year's budget, the list of special funds shall be submitted to the Municipal Finance Bureau for review.

Article 8 The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau may determine the final funding amount of the project in a reasonable manner within the prescribed funding limit based on the annual budget scale and the number of applications to ensure the performance of the special funds. The reasonable methods mainly include:

(1) Special funds in the annual budget will be used up in the order of application; if a project fails to obtain funding in the current year due to insufficient budget, the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau may arrange funding from the budget funds of the next year;

(ii) Based on the budget size and the number of project applications, the funding ratio and amount will be appropriately lowered without exceeding the maximum funding standard that the grantees can enjoy.

Chapter 2 Scope of Support

Article 9 Scope of support for invention patent funding projects:

Invention patent funding includes funding for domestic and foreign authorized invention patents and funding for PCT international patent applications entering the national phase (abroad).

Article 10 Scope of support for the Intellectual Property Strong Enterprise Cultivation Project:

The intellectual property strong enterprise cultivation project includes funding for the recognition of municipal patent advantage enterprises, supporting rewards for national and provincial intellectual property advantage demonstration enterprises, and funding for intellectual property management standard implementation certification.

Article 11 The scope of support for patent operation funding projects:

The patent operation funding project includes funding for intellectual property operation service agencies and funding for the establishment of intellectual property operation funds.

Article 12 Scope of support for patent financial aid projects:

Patent financial funding projects include interest subsidies for patent pledge financing, funding for patent value assessment fees, funding for pledge financing intermediary institutions, and subsidies for patent insurance premiums.

The types of insurance that are subsidized for patent insurance premiums include patent enforcement insurance, patent infringement liability insurance, patent infringement liability insurance for overseas exhibitions, patent agency liability insurance, and patent pledge financing guarantee insurance.

Article 13 Scope of support for the Patent Award Supporting Reward Project:

The patent award supporting reward project includes supporting rewards for projects that have won national and provincial patent awards.

Article 14 Scope of support for high-value patent cultivation projects:

High-value patent cultivation projects include patent navigation projects, patent research projects and patent information service platform projects.

Article 15 Scope of support for patent public service projects:

Patent public service projects include patent analysis and review projects for major scientific, technological and economic activities and patent publicity and training projects.

Article 16 Scope of support for patent protection projects:

The patent protection project includes funding for corporate patent protection assistance and funding for outstanding intellectual property service agencies.

Chapter III Application Conditions

Article 17 The applicant does not have any of the following situations as specified in the Several Provisions on the Specific Scope of Non-Subsidy for Special Financial Funds for Science and Technology Development and Industrial Transformation and Upgrading in Dongguan City and related documents. The applicants for the intermediary institutions, patent agencies, intellectual property service agencies, and intellectual property operation service agencies involved in this measure must be institutions established in the Comprehensive Experimental Base for Deepening Commercial System Reform in our city, the Songshan Lake High-tech Zone, and the Intellectual Property Service Industry Cluster in Binhaiwan New Area. After the successful pilot of the above three service clusters, they will be promoted to towns and streets in other industrial clusters in due course.

Article 18 Application conditions for domestic and foreign authorized invention patent funding and PCT international patent application funding entering the national phase (foreign):

The patentee obtains the invention patent with the address of this city and meets one of the following conditions:

(1) Enterprises, institutions, social organizations, etc. in this city;

(2) Residents with registered permanent residence in this city;

(3) Individuals who have worked in this city and purchased social insurance for more than 2 years (including 2 years) continuously at the time of applying for funding from this project;

(IV) Full-time students in primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher learning in this city.

Article 19 Application conditions for the recognition of municipal patent advantage enterprises:

(1) An independent legal entity enterprise registered in this city for more than three years, in line with the city's industrial development direction, with good operating conditions and growth potential;

(ii) Actively implement intellectual property strategy. The enterprise attaches importance to intellectual property work, has a sound intellectual property management system and incentive mechanism, has special funds for intellectual property work, and has established an intellectual property management organization with full-time staff;

(III) Attach importance to the creation of intellectual property rights. Own no less than 10 valid invention patents or no less than 30 utility model patents;

(IV) The implementation effect of patent technology is good. We attach importance to the application of the value of intellectual property rights and actively promote the transformation of patent achievements;

(V) Attach importance to the use of patent information. We have established effective channels for the use of patent information in the fields of leading products and key technologies, and carried out patent search, analysis and strategic research;

(VI) Strong awareness of intellectual property protection. An intellectual property protection and early warning mechanism has been established to enhance awareness of intellectual property protection and dispute response capabilities. In the past two years, there has been no intellectual property infringement identified through administrative and judicial procedures.

Article 20 Application for funding for the implementation of intellectual property management standards must meet the following conditions:

(1) Enterprises that have been legally registered in this city and obtained the "Enterprise Intellectual Property Management Standards" (GB/T 29490-2013) certification (the certificate is within the validity period) or provincial-level new R&D institutions, universities and research institutes that have obtained the "Intellectual Property Management Standards for Scientific Research Organizations" (GB/T 33250-2016) certification (the certificate is within the validity period);

(2) When applying for the project, the standard-compliant enterprise, provincial-level new R&D institution, or university or research institute must have more than five valid patents or more than one valid invention patent.

Article 21 Applications for patent operation funding projects must meet one of the following conditions:

(1) An intellectual property operation service institution registered in this city that promotes the transaction and transformation of patent assets through transfer, implementation license, valuation and equity investment, and has an annual main business income of RMB 10 million;

(II) The intellectual property operation fund established in our city and registered with the Asset Management Association of China has an actual management scale of RMB 30 million, and carries out businesses such as cultivating and operating high-value patents, building patent pools, and investing in high-quality intellectual property enterprises.

Article 22 Application conditions for interest subsidies and assessment fee subsidies for patent pledge financing:

(1) Enterprises applying for patent pledge financing must be registered in this city in accordance with the law;

(2) The enterprise obtained a bank loan by pledging its patent rights and registered the patent pledge with the State Intellectual Property Office.

Article 23 Application conditions for funding from pledge financing intermediary institutions:

(1) Intermediary institutions established in our city provide patent pledge financing services to enterprises;

(ii) The service enterprise obtained a bank loan by pledging its patent rights and registered the patent pledge with the State Intellectual Property Office.

Article 24 Application conditions for patent insurance premium subsidy:

(1) Enterprises and patent agencies legally registered in this city;

(ii) The insured patent must be an invention patent, utility model patent or design patent with a Dongguan address;

(III) Enterprises applying for patent insurance subsidies must be the patent owner of the insured patent, or an enterprise authorized by the patent owner (individual).

Article 25 Application conditions for high-value patent cultivation projects:

(1) The applicant must be an enterprise, institution, social group, industry association, college, scientific research institution or domestic intellectual property service institution with independent legal personality that is legally registered in this city;

(ii) The applicant should own at least one core patent;

(III) The applicant may submit the application individually or jointly with other entities.

Article 26 Application conditions for patent public service projects:

(1) The applicant must be an enterprise, institution, social group, industry association or domestic intellectual property service institution with independent legal personality registered in this city;

(II) The applicant should have the foundation for patent information research and analysis and the ability to continue research and analysis; have relevant work experience in patent analysis and early warning, and have the personnel and ability to undertake project-related work;

(III) The applicant may submit the application individually or jointly with other entities.

Article 27 Application conditions for patent protection projects:

1. Assistance and funding for enterprise patent protection

1. An independent legal entity registered in this city;

2. The ruling of the first instance of the domestic or foreign people's courts in which the plaintiff wins the case;

3. There has been no infringement of intellectual property rights identified through administrative or judicial procedures in the past two years.

(II) Funding for Excellent Intellectual Property Service Institutions

1. From the date of implementation of these measures, institutions newly registered or relocated in the Comprehensive Experimental Base for Deepening Commercial System Reform, Songshan Lake High-tech Zone and Binhaiwan New Area in our city shall have an annual main business income of more than 10 million yuan;

2. Have more than 10 professional staff members engaged in the main business of intellectual property rights (patent agents/overseas patent agents/intellectual property litigation lawyers/patent analysts/technical experts, etc., excluding salesmen and clerks), of whom more than 5 have relevant qualifications or practice certificates.

Chapter 4 Funding Methods and Amounts

Article 28 Methods and amounts of funding for invention patents:

(I) Encourage high-value patent applications. The funding for each domestic authorized invention patent shall not exceed RMB 5,000. For those that have received fee reductions from the State Intellectual Property Office, the funding shall not exceed RMB 2,000.

(II) The funding for invention patents authorized by the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union shall not exceed RMB 20,000 per patent; the funding for invention patents authorized in other countries or regions with patent approval agencies (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) shall not exceed RMB 10,000 per patent; the funding for invention patents authorized by Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan shall not exceed RMB 5,000 per patent. The same technical solution can fund patent authorizations in up to two foreign countries or regions.

(III) For those who apply for overseas invention patents through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and enter the national phase (abroad), the funding shall not exceed RMB 5,000 for each application.

The maximum funding amount for the above-mentioned items (i), (ii) and (iii) is subject to the following limits:

1. The number of grants for the three categories for the same person in the same year shall not exceed 5;

2. For public institutions and enterprises listed in the list of industrial enterprises above designated size, national high-tech enterprises, pilot enterprises of the municipal "doubling plan", patent demonstration advantage enterprises, municipal new R&D institutions, etc., the three subsidies for the same enterprise or institution in the same year shall not exceed RMB 3 million, RMB 1 million and RMB 1 million respectively; for other enterprises, the total of the three subsidies in the same year shall not exceed RMB 200,000;

For patent applicants who are confirmed to have engaged in irregular behaviors such as abnormal patent applications, fraud to obtain funding, etc., if the circumstances are serious, they will no longer be granted invention patent funding within five years.

Article 29 Funding methods and amounts for the Intellectual Property Strong Enterprise Cultivation Project:

(I) The maximum one-time subsidy for each patent advantage enterprise in Dongguan City shall not exceed RMB 100,000. No duplicate subsidy shall be provided to the patent advantage enterprises that have been identified in the city. No more than 30 enterprises shall be identified and subsidized each year.

(II) A one-time matching reward of no more than RMB 300,000 and RMB 200,000 will be given to each approved national intellectual property demonstration enterprise and superior enterprise respectively; a one-time matching reward of no more than RMB 200,000 will be given to each approved provincial intellectual property demonstration enterprise. For enterprises that receive multiple matching rewards in the same year, the matching reward will be given based on the highest amount of the single item, and no duplicate rewards will be given;

(III) For enterprises, provincial-level new R&D institutions and universities and research institutes that meet the conditions for funding the implementation of intellectual property management standards, a one-time funding of no more than RMB 50,000 will be provided to each enterprise.

Article 30 Funding methods and amounts for patent operation funding projects:

(1) For intellectual property operation service institutions that promote the transaction and transformation of patent assets in our city through transfer, implementation license, valuation and equity investment, and whose annual main business income reaches 10 million yuan, they will be subsidized according to the proportion of corporate income tax actually paid in that year, not exceeding the local retention rate at the municipal level, and the maximum amount of subsidy shall not exceed 2 million yuan;

(II) A one-time reward of no more than 2% (the portion of fiscal funds invested in the total amount) of the fund’s investment in high-value patent cultivation, operation, construction of patent pools, investment in high-quality intellectual property enterprises, etc. will be given to the established intellectual property operation fund, with a maximum of no more than 500,000 yuan. The maximum funding for the same management institution shall not exceed 3 million yuan.

Article 31 Funding methods and amounts for patent financial aid projects:

(I) For enterprises that engage in patent pledge financing, interest subsidies will be granted based on the actual interest paid for patent pledge financing loans, not exceeding 70%. Among them, the proportion of interest subsidies from Dongguan City’s finances shall not exceed 50% (included in the scope of credit support for the three-in-one integration of science and technology and finance industries, and the specific standards shall refer to the unified standards of the three-in-one integration), and the proportion of interest subsidies from the national finances shall not exceed 20%. The maximum annual interest subsidy for the same enterprise shall not exceed RMB 500,000; 50% of the actual patent value assessment fees incurred by the bank for patent pledge financing will be subsidized, and the maximum subsidy for the same patent value assessment fee shall not exceed RMB 300,000;

(ii) Provide subsidies to pledge financing intermediaries at 1% of the amount of bank loans obtained by the enterprises they serve through patent pledges, with the maximum subsidy for the same institution not exceeding RMB 500,000 per year;

(III) Enterprises or patent agencies that purchase patent insurance will be given a subsidy of 50% of the actual premiums they spend on patent insurance. The total annual patent insurance subsidy for the same unit shall not exceed RMB 300,000.

Article 32 Funding methods and amounts for supporting award projects for patent awards:

For projects that win the National Patent Gold Award (including the Design Gold Award), Patent Silver Award (including the Design Silver Award) and Patent Excellence Award (including the Design Excellence Award), the municipal finance will reward 2 million yuan, 300,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan respectively; for projects that win the Provincial Patent Gold Award, Patent Silver Award, Patent Excellence Award and Outstanding Inventor Award, the municipal finance will reward 300,000 yuan, 200,000 yuan, 100,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan respectively.

Article 33: Funding methods and amounts for high-value patent cultivation projects:

The maximum funding amount for each patent navigation project and patent information service platform project shall not exceed RMB 500,000; the maximum funding amount for each patent research project shall not exceed RMB 200,000. If the municipal government has other regulations, they shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations.

Article 34: Funding methods and amounts for patent public service projects:

The maximum funding amount for each patent analysis and review project for major economic and technological activities shall not exceed RMB 500,000; the maximum funding amount for each patent publicity and training project shall not exceed RMB 200,000. If the municipal government has other regulations, they shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations.

Article 35 Patent protection project funding methods and amounts:

(1) For domestic and foreign patent lawsuits initiated or passively responded to by enterprises in this city to protect their own patent rights and interests, and they win, a subsidy of no more than RMB 10,000 will be provided for each case, and no more than RMB 100,000 per year for each unit;

(II) No more than three excellent domestic and foreign intellectual property service institutions will be subsidized each year, with the subsidy being based on the actual corporate income tax paid by them in that year, not exceeding the municipal retention ratio, and the maximum subsidy amount will not exceed RMB 500,000.

Article 36: For the intermediary agencies, patent agencies, intellectual property service agencies, and intellectual property operation service agencies mentioned above, the number of funded projects for the same agency in the same year shall not exceed 3, and the maximum cumulative funding amount shall not exceed RMB 5 million.

Chapter V Application and Approval

Article 37 The application and approval procedures for post-subsidy projects such as invention patent funding, intellectual property management standardization and implementation funding, patent operation funding, patent financial funding, and patent protection are as follows:

(1) The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) issues a project application guide (application notice), and the applicant organizes the application and submits relevant application materials;

(2) The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau) and the intellectual property authorities of towns and streets (parks) conduct a formal review;

(III) If the formal review is qualified, the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) will review and determine the proposed funding projects and funding amounts, solicit opinions from relevant municipal departments, and publicize them on the website of the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) for 7 days;

(IV) If there is no objection or the objection is not established after the public announcement period, the Municipal Finance Bureau will review and approve it, and then the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) will issue a project funding notice and allocate funding.

Article 38 The application and approval process for the city's patent advantage enterprise certification and high-value patent cultivation projects is as follows:

(1) The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) issues a project application guide (application notice), and the applicant organizes the application and submits relevant application materials;

(2) The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau) and the intellectual property authorities of towns and streets (parks) conduct a formal review;

(III) If the formal review is qualified, the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) will entrust the Municipal Science and Technology Association to organize an expert review. The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) will determine the proposed funding projects and funding amounts based on the review results, solicit opinions from relevant municipal departments, and publicize them on the website of the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) for 7 days;

(IV) Upon expiration of the public announcement period, if there is no objection or the objection is not established, the Municipal Finance Bureau shall review and approve the project, and then the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) shall issue a project funding notice and allocate funding (a project contract must be signed for the patent navigation project).

Article 39 The application and approval process for the national and provincial patent awards and supporting awards for demonstration enterprises with intellectual property advantages is as follows:

(1) Formulate a list of supporting awards and their amounts in accordance with relevant national and provincial documents;

(ii) Solicit opinions from relevant municipal departments and publicize on the website of the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau) for 7 days;

(3) If there is no objection or the objection is not established after the public announcement period, the Municipal Finance Bureau will review and approve it, and then the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau) will issue a supporting reward notice and allocate funds.

Article 40 Application and Approval Process for Patent Public Service Projects

Patent analysis and review projects for major economic and technological activities and patent publicity and training projects use the government procurement service or project application expert review method to determine the project establishment and funding amounts.

(1) The application and approval process for government procurement of services shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Municipal Government and the Municipal Finance Bureau.

(II) The application and approval process for project application expert review shall be carried out in accordance with Article 38 above.

Chapter 6 Project Management

Article 41 The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) shall supervise and manage the implementation of patent navigation projects and patent analysis and review projects for major economic and technological activities. If the following circumstances are found, the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) has the right to terminate the project and recover the allocated funding:

(1) Changing the content or progress of a project without the consent of the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau) and failing to provide a reasonable explanation;

(2) The quality of project implementation is poor and no remedial measures are taken during the project implementation period;

(3) Improper implementation of the project causes adverse social impacts and no timely measures are taken to eliminate the impacts.

If, during the implementation of a project, the market changes, the project implementation becomes meaningless or other force majeure factors make it impossible to continue the project and the project needs to be cancelled, the remaining project funding will be returned to the municipal finance after investigation and verification by the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau).

Article 42 Within 3 months after the project implementation expires, the Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Bureau) shall organize experts to conduct acceptance inspection.

Chapter VII Supervision, Inspection and Performance Evaluation

Article 43 The supervision and management, performance evaluation, information disclosure and accountability of special funds shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the municipal government on the management measures for municipal special financial funds, financial management measures, performance evaluation, accountability and other measures.

Article 44: Continuously improve the supervision and inspection system for special fund projects, follow up and inspect the implementation of projects, urge and guide the fund-using units to use funds in accordance with regulations, and entrust third-party institutions to conduct special inspections, and promptly correct any problems found.

Article 45 The subsidized units shall effectively strengthen the management of the use of special funds, strictly implement financial rules and regulations and accounting methods, and consciously accept supervision and inspection by financial, auditing, supervision and other units.

Article 46 Project application units must be responsible for the accuracy and practicality of the application materials. If it is verified that there are illegal and irregular behaviors, they will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Regulations on Punishment and Discipline for Financial Violations" and the "Dongguan City "Science and Technology Dongguan" Project Special Fund Financial Management Measures". For those who falsely report, intercept, misappropriate, falsely claim, embezzle or provide false information to defraud special funds, the financial support funds must be recovered. Those suspected of committing crimes will be transferred to judicial organs for criminal prosecution in accordance with the law.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 47 The Municipal Market Supervision Bureau (Intellectual Property Office) is responsible for revising and interpreting these Measures. Any relevant policies previously issued by our city that are inconsistent with the provisions of these Measures shall be implemented in accordance with these Measures.

Article 48 This Measures shall come into force on the date of publication and shall be valid until December 31, 2021.