The number and quality of authorized patents in Shanghai is on the increase, a conference held in the city told. The Shanghai Municipial Patent Information Conference held on March 10 announced detailed patent statistics and information about Shanghai, showing the level of innovation in the city.

Lv Guoqiang, director of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA) gave a review of the annual patent works materializedin 2014, announcing while the number of patents applications last year dropped by 5.5 percent compared to the year before, total invention patents authorization topped 11,614, up 9.1 percent over the same period in 2013.

"The figures illustrate the fact that the quality and level of patent applications in Shanghai has recorded a significant improvement", Lv added, stating, "We hope the industry companies raise awareness for patent validity while the government makes continuous efforts to improve the value of patents."

According to SIPA，23.7 patents were registered for every 10,000 people on average within 2014.That is nearly 19 items more than the national average and and does represent 16.7 percent increase compared to 2013. The city submitted 1038 pieces of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) international patent application, up17.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Brightdairy company and Shanghai Boiler Works Ltd. are first time listed as the top ten enterprises in invention patent authorizations.

It is the second time that SIPA has published the systematic patent information about Shanghai since 2013. Lv stressed that enterprises should continue to play a decisive role in independent innovation and optimization of the patent structure in future projects.