BEIJING — China pledged to establish more intellectual property protection centers, according to the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) on April 24.

China has established 19 intellectual property protection centers nationwide, said Shen Changyu, head of the SIPO, at a news conference of the State Council Information Office.

The centers aim to provide more convenient and efficient channels at lower cost to safeguard rights and accelerate rights authorization and confirmation.

According to Shen, China is revising its Patent Law and establishing a punitive damages system for intellectual property infringement to increase the cost of illegal behavior and create a deterrent effect.

“China will strengthen intellectual property protection to fulfill its international obligation as well as increase China’s economic competitiveness,” Shen said.

China received 1.38 million patent applications for inventions in 2017, up 14.2 percent and ranking first in the past seven years.

In 2017, China ranked second in international patent applications, with some 51,000 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications submitted.