As of the end of 2022, intellectual property (IP) insurance provided more than CNY110bn ($16bn) of risk protection for more than 46,000 patents, trademarks, geographical indications, and integrated circuit layout designs of more than 28,000 companies.
IP insurance was sold in 22 provinces across China as of the end of 2022.
These data are published in the “White Paper on the Development of China’s Intellectual Property Insurance (2022)” released on 8 February. The white paper was issued by the Intellectual Property Development and Research Centre and China National Intellectual Property Administration, the first time that the country issued a report on the issue.
The white paper says that insurance coverage was available at each step in the IP process, including creation, protection and application.
Mr Bai Jianfeng, director of the Intellectual Property Development Research Centre of the State Intellectual Property Office, says that China began to explore patent insurance in 2011.
The white paper says that It is necessary to strengthen the capacity building of intellectual property insurance professional teams and institutions, conduct in-depth research and analysis on key needs and difficult issues, and promote the integration and development of intellectual property and finance at a deeper level.
At the operating level, insurance companies need to exercise more care in IP insurance business than in general property insurance in product design and underwriting. The risk of adverse selection is high, and there is a need to accurately identify the potential value of intellectual property rights.
