Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone: Revitalize Intellectual Property Rights and Turn "Intellectual Property" into "Assets"

Source: Guangming Network

Guangming Daily reporter Gao Ping Wang Xiao Guangming Daily correspondent Jia Tingting

"Intellectual property rights are connected to innovation at one end and to the market at the other, and are an important bridge and link for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces." That's how experts describe intellectual property. In the face of the intangible asset of intellectual property rights, how can all kinds of enterprises as market players maximize the value of patent resources and promote the growth and expansion of enterprises?

At present, in the Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone, the first state-level high-tech zone in inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the effective docking of intellectual property rights and scientific and technological resources is stimulating a strong vitality for regional innovation and development and injecting strong momentum into economic development.

Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone continues to explore effective institutional mechanisms in the aspects of "creation, application, service and management" of intellectual property rights, and takes the lead in establishing the "One-stop Service Alliance for Intellectual Property Rights" in China to provide enterprises with intellectual property services in 8 fields such as information retrieval, patent declaration and business training; and cooperates with China Patent Development Corporation to build the first "Global Rare Earth Patent Thematic Database" in China, providing reliable platform support for pledge financing, transfer and transformation of intellectual property rights, and transaction circulation.

Intellectual property pledges make way for corporate financing

"At the critical juncture of enterprise development, I did not expect that 'intellectual property' could be transformed into an 'asset', allowing enterprises to achieve a key leap." Wu Zhimin, director of the research and development office of Baotou Tianhe Magnetic Material Technology Co., Ltd., said happily. Financing difficulties and expensive financing have always been the development pain points of enterprises, and Tianhe Magnetics has also encountered the same problem. Fortunately, with the help of the Intellectual Property Office of the Rare Earth High-tech Zone, through the pledge of 68 authorized patents, the company quickly obtained bank loan credit, which solved the urgent need.

"Patents are the 'stepping stones' for enterprises to participate in market competition. As an export-oriented enterprise, 40 of the 68 patents currently in the enterprise are foreign patents, which means that our innovation ability and participation in the international market are more competitive. Our achievements in patent application are inseparable from the strong support of the Intellectual Property Office of the Rare Earth High-tech Zone to send policies and services to enterprises in a timely manner. Wu Zhimin told reporters that the company has tasted the "fruit" brought by the patent, and under the agglomeration of innovation and other factor resources, the total production capacity of the company's NdFeB permanent magnet and samarium cobalt permanent magnet has reached the level of 10,000 tons.

In recent years, in the process of developing high technology and realizing industrialization, Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone has actively explored the innovation system and mechanism of deep integration of "government, banking and enterprises", actively signed strategic cooperation agreements with financial institutions, built an "intellectual property pledge financing demand database", improved the innovative research and development and industrial generation system oriented to industrial demand through the two-wheel drive of "finance + technology", continuously promoted industrial transformation and the transfer and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and explored the use of "enterprise equipment + intellectual property rights" and "shareholder real estate + intellectual property rights". Equity + intellectual property rights" and other pledge financing, to promote the organic integration of finance and intellectual property rights, to solve the problem of enterprise funds.

In 2021, Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone added 1262 new authorized patents, an increase of 40.8% year-on-year, the number of effective patents has reached 3739, the number of effective invention patents per 10,000 people has reached 29.5, and the total number of patent pledge financing for 4 enterprises has reached 73.7 million yuan.

Innovative management mechanism, cultivating "innovation forest"

Through the "key technology of oriented silicon steel tunnel type high-temperature annealing equipment" and more than 80 patents independently developed by the enterprise, Baotou Weifeng Rare Earth Electromagnetic Materials Co., Ltd. successfully obtained more than 13 million yuan of financial support. "At present, we are applying for 20 million yuan of credit support from financial institutions through intellectual property pledges for the development and research of enterprises in high magnetic-oriented silicon steel." Li Xinxin, director of the company's finance department, said.

Taking government departments as the leader, broadening intellectual property financing channels, creating a benign environment for venture capital, and cultivating a good technology market can play a "four or two allocations" effect on the operation of intellectual property rights. So, how can the Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone use intellectual property rights to cultivate a leafy "innovation forest" and boost enterprises to be invincible in market competition?

In recent years, Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone has continuously optimized the development environment of intellectual property rights, explored and formed a management mechanism of upper-lower linkage, policy support and overall promotion, established a one-stop service platform for intellectual property rights, and the 16 intellectual property intermediaries have provided one-on-one services for more than 200 enterprises around patents and trademarks.

Since the beginning of this year, Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone has strengthened policy guidance, clarified the rewards for the creation, management, application and protection of intellectual property rights, and provided customized and differentiated intellectual property custody services in accordance with the law of enterprise growth, so as to achieve "double improvement" in the quantity and quality of enterprise patents.

Create a new highland for strong intellectual property enterprises

In April 2021, baotou Shengyou Rare Earth Co., Ltd., "rare earth molten salt electrolysis device" and "rare earth molten salt electrolysis automatic constant temperature device" two utility model patents, successfully transferred to Guangdong Hengqin Intellectual Property Company.

"Both patents were declared in 2016, with the continuous adjustment of the production process, the company has entered a new stage of development, and these two patents will no longer be applicable to the development needs of enterprises." We transfer patents and use the transfer fee for the exploration and research and development of other achievements, and continuously promote the efficient and sustainable development of enterprises. Wang Yan, director of the Shengyou Rare Earth Comprehensive Department, said that intellectual property rights have truly become a "promoter" for development, opening a door for enterprises to innovate.

"The rare earth high-tech zone firmly locks in the overall goal of intellectual property creation and promotes scientific and technological innovation, focuses on discovering and cultivating a number of enterprises with intellectual property advantages, and continuously enhances the core competitiveness of enterprises." Zhang Yu, a staff member of the Intellectual Property Office of the Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone, said that at present, the Rare Earth High-tech Zone has continuously enhanced the innovation ability and comprehensive strength of enterprises by carrying out "patent sweeping zero", establishing a "patent strength evaluation" mechanism, and strengthening the "cultivation of enterprises with standard advantages".

Up to now, Baotou Rare Earth High-tech Zone has accumulated 13 intellectual property advantages and demonstration enterprises, and 11 enterprises that have been certified by the standard of "Enterprise Intellectual Property Management Norms".