Why revitalize idle patents held by universities and research institutes
China’s universities and research institutes hold a large volume of patents, yet many remain unused. In October 2023, the State Council issued the Special Action Plan for Patent Transformation and Utilization (2023–2025), making the inventory of idle patents a top priority. To implement it, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and seven other ministries jointly released the Work Plan for Revitalizing Idle Patents at Universities and Research Institutes on 26 January 2024.
The plan delivers three benefits: accelerating patent transfer, steering research toward real industry needs, and empowering enterprises to build patent-intensive products and new growth drivers.
Core framework: one platform, two ends, three databases, four steps
One platform: the National Patent Navigation Service Platform
The National Patent Navigation Service Platform (www.patentnavi.org.cn) provides patent data, classification, matching and feedback services to universities, enterprises and service providers.
Two ends: self-assessment plus market assessment
Universities first self-assess their own patents; enterprises then assess them from a market perspective, strengthening market orientation and building a supply-demand bridge.
Three databases: basic, resource and expert
The basic database covers all valid idle patents; the resource database holds convertible patents filtered by self- and market assessment; the expert database, organized by industry, supports evaluation.
Four steps: inventory, assess, transform, optimize increment
Work proceeds through comprehensive inventory, market assessment, promotion and transformation, and optimizing new patent quality, all advancing in parallel.
How universities should inventory their patents
The scope covers all valid patents granted before the end of 2023, with later grants added promptly; patents in key industries and strong disciplines are prioritized. Institutions screen high-value patents by maturity, application scenarios and commercial prospects, tag them with transfer, license or self-use intentions, and build a resource database.
How enterprises join the demand-side assessment
Leading enterprises—IP demonstration enterprises, specialized SMEs, high-tech firms and state-owned enterprises—evaluate the commercialization prospects of patents in the resource database via the platform and feed back improvement needs. An expert database was completed by April 2024.
How high-value patents are commercialized
Local authorities launch online and offline promotion by June 2024. High-value patents are matched with investment, pledge financing and insurance; broadly applicable patents may use open licensing. The plan encourages ordinary licensing and “entry fee + royalty” or installment payment to share risk and reward.
Optimizing the increment: quality from the source
To avoid “clearing the old while owing the new,” applicants must raise filing quality, align R&D with enterprise feedback, embed transformation outcomes into evaluations, and adopt pre-filing assessment while phasing out grants-based rewards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the scope of the patent inventory?
All valid patents granted by the institution before the end of 2023, with later grants added promptly; invention patents in key industries and strong disciplines are prioritized.
How do enterprises join the assessment?
Leading enterprises evaluate the commercialization prospects of patents in the resource database through the National Patent Navigation Service Platform and feed back technical and collaboration needs.
How are high-value patents commercialized?
Through ordinary licensing, entry-fee-plus-royalty or installment payment, matched with investment, pledge financing and insurance; broadly applicable patents may use open licensing.
If your organization needs to manage patent annuity fees and avoid lapses, our China patent fee watch tool helps; for pre-filing formal checks, use the Zhihai tools. For further assessment, contact Hefei Zhihaiyida Patent Agency (code 34408).
Source
China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), “Policy Interpretation”: Interpreting the Work Plan for Revitalizing Idle Patents at Universities and Research Institutes (2024-02-05). Original: CNIPA. This article introduces the intellectual property system of the People’s Republic of China (China); please refer to the latest official rules for specifics.