SHANGHAI — China's accumulative valid trademark registrations totaled 28.23 million pieces as of August, according to the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) on Sept 18.

China has been persistently facilitating the trademark registration sector to better serve market entities, said the NIPA.

In the first eight months this year, the total applications for trademark registration reached 6.03 million pieces, a 20.98 percent increase compared with the same period of 2019.

"The trademark sector is a main part of the intellectual property rights (IPR), connecting innovation and entrepreneurship with the market. The level of facilitation for trademark registration is of interest for market entities," said Yao Kun, deputy director with the trademark department of the NIPA.

Since 2016, China has been continuously implementing a series of reform measures to boost the development of the trademark sector by developing application channels, enhancing the efficiency of application reviews, and improving public services, Yao said.

By now, the review of each trademark registration in China takes only four and a half months, on average, hitting the higher levels worldwide. There are 212 offices across the country for trademark registration and 103 for trademark pledge financing.

To facilitate the application, the trademark authorities provide 25 trademark-related services online. In the first eight months this year, the online trademark registrations accounted for 97.83 percent of the total sum of applications.

The trademark authorities will further improve service quality and efficiency by shortening the review process for trademark registration to four months, according to the NIPA.

More online services for trademark oppositions, trademark invalidation announcements, and other related businesses are also underway.

China has been endeavoring to cultivate a good environment for IPR development, with increasing institutions, professionals, and service patterns. In 2019, the number of patent and trademark agencies increased to 51,000, and the number of practicing patent agents exceeded 20,000.