State Intellectual Property Office Research Articles

Xiaozhi formula attenuates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by regulating lipid metabolism via activation of AMPK and PPAR pathways

BackgroundXiaozhi formula (XZF) is a practical Chinese herbal formula for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which possesses an authorized patent certificate issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of China (ZL202211392355.0). However, the underlying mechanism by which XZF treats NAFLD remains unclear. PurposeThis study aimed to explore the main component of XZF and its mechanism of action in NAFLD treatment. MethodsUHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS was used to identify the components of the XZF. A high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD mouse model was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of XZF. Body weight, liver weight, and white fat weight were recorded to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of XZF. H&E and Oil Red O staining were applied to observe the extent of hepatic steatosis. Liver damage, lipid metabolism, and glucose metabolism were detected by relevant assay kits. Moreover, the intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test and the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test were employed to evaluate the efficacy of XZF in insulin homeostasis. Hepatocyte oxidative damage markers were detected to assess the efficacy of XZF in preventing oxidative stress. Label-free proteomics was used to investigate the underlying mechanism of XZF in NAFLD. RT-qPCR was used to calculate the expression levels of lipid metabolism genes. Western blot analysis was applied to detect the hepatic protein expression of AMPK, p-AMPK, PPARɑ, CPT1, and PPARγ. Results120 compounds were preliminarily identified from XZF by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS. XZF could alleviate HFD-induced obesity, white adipocyte size, lipid accumulation, and hepatic steatosis in mice. Additionally, XZF could normalize glucose levels, improve glucolipid metabolism disorders, and prevent oxidative stress damage induced by HFD. Furthermore, the proteomic analysis showed that the major pathways in fatty acid metabolism and the PPAR signaling pathway were significantly impacted by XZF treatment. The expression levels of several lipolytic and β-oxidation genes were up-regulated, while the expression of fatty acid synthesis genes declined in the HFD + XZF group. Mechanically, XZF treatment enhanced the expression of p-AMPK, PPARɑ, and CPT-1 and suppressed the expression of PPARγ in the livers of NAFLD mice, indicating that XZF could activate the AMPK and PPAR pathways to attenuate NALFD progression. ConclusionXZF could attenuate NAFLD by moderating lipid metabolism by activating AMPK and PPAR signaling pathways.

Downstream Competition and Upstream Innovation: Theory and Evidence from China

Abstract Competition is the catalyst of corporate innovation, which is the foundation of a country’s core competitiveness. From the view of vertical industrial chain, this paper examines how downstream competition affects upstream firms’ innovation output. Given innovation helps reduce the production cost of each product, increasing demand of intermediate products caused by downstream competition enhances the marginal revenue of upstream firms’ innovation, thus leading to an innovation incentive effect. To identify causality, we utilize China’s WTO accession, a quasi-natural experiment, to calculate downstream competition combined with import tariff reduction and input-output table, and then run a difference-in-difference regression. Using the data of Annual Survey of Industrial Firms and State Intellectual Property Office, our results find that downstream competition has a significantly positive impact on upstream firms’ innovation, and this effect is more pronounced in firms with less industry competition, greater initial innovation capacity and weaker financial constraints. Moreover, the number of firms, the degree of industry competition and the scale of intermediate products in the downstream sector increase, confirming the market size channel. In sum, our findings document that downstream competition can motivate upstream firms to innovate through vertical industrial chain, providing some useful insights for China to build a fair market competition environment and promote innovation-driven growth regime.

Research on Chinese medicinal materials cultivation: A bibliometric and visual analysis

Chinese medicinal materials (CMMs) are important strategic resource in China. The cultivation process of medicinal plants is the key link which directly affect the quality and efficacy. The literatures of CMMs cultivation were acquired from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database and State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) patent database for the years between 2001 and 2021. All the articles found were subjected to bibliometric analysis. The development trends and key topics were analyzed and visualized by VOSviewer and CiteSpace software. The results indicate that ecological planting, under-forest economy, intercropping patterns and industrialization production are the research hotspots in this field; cultivation technology and nutritional fertilization technology are the main areas addressed in recent years. Therefore, the high-quality and sustainable development of CMMs cultivation should be examined in terms of theoretical approaches, technical innovation, multi-cooperation, and intellectual property protection.

Cultural diversity and regional innovation: Evidence from China

AbstractThe cultural diversity brought by migrants has attracted widespread interest in recent years. This paper investigates the relationship between migrant cultural diversity and regional innovation by constructing panel data of provincial migrant cultural diversity and combining them with invention applications data from China's State Intellectual Property Office. The empirical results show that the migrant cultural diversity, measured by migrant's hukou and dialect respectively, has a positive impact on regional innovation. The effect still holds after a series of robustness tests and addressing endogeneity issues. Furthermore, the further analysis implies that the effects of the migrant cultural diversity in workers aged from 30 to 50, engaged in an innovative occupation, working in high market‐competitiveness or inclusive provinces are more pronounced. Our study supplements the current research on the relationship between migrant cultural diversity and regional innovation.

How do energy-saving policies improve environmental quality: Evidence from China’s Top 10,000 energy-consuming enterprises program

Treating China’s Top 10,000 Energy-Consuming Enterprises Program (T10000P) as a quasi-natural experiment, this is the first study to investigate the synergistic effects of the representative energy-saving policy on environmental quality at the micro-level. We create a panel data set by matching China’s Environmental Statistics Database, Industrial Enterprise Database, and State Intellectual Property Office Database, and employ the difference-in-differences model to identify the policy’s environmental effects and their mechanisms. The results show that the T10000P can effectively lower chemical oxygen demand (COD) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions, which still hold after a series of robustness checks, indicating that the policy has a significant synergistic effect on environmental quality improvement. Furthermore, compared with small polluters, the T10000P has a higher pollutant emission inhibition effect on large polluters. Such a positive environmental impact is confirmed for energy-intensive, large, rather than non-energy-intensive and small enterprises, showing heterogeneous effects across different enterprises. We also find that promoting green technology innovation and environmental compliance are the important channels through which the policy improves environmental quality. Therefore, the energy-saving policy can improve environmental quality by setting constrained targets on energy consumption, especially in developing countries.

The Impact of Female Executives on Corporate Development from the Perspective of ESG Investment

In recent years, gender equality has increasingly become the focus of international attention. The proposition of gender equality is widely used in politics, economics, and other fields. As a new investment concept emerging in the field of global economic law in the last decade, when assessing the potential for long-term growth, environmental, social responsibility, and governance investments also consider the social and long-term value of businesses. In the process of pursuing sustainable development, environmental and social responsibility, governance investment, and the embodiment of gender equality in enterprise management and business investment are inseparable. The research topic of this paper is the impact of female executives on corporate development. This paper mainly uses data from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research Database and the State Intellectual Property Office. Through legal study and data analysis, which are the three perspectives of the environmental, social responsibility, governance, and investment approaches. Then the paper evaluated the data using the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Score the sample data with the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and compare the final score to determine the sustainable development ability of the company. Deeply considers the role of female executives in the enterprise and the existence of female executives on investors, boards and even the entire company.

Medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine compounds for pain

The present study collected data on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) compounds effective in relieving pain from the patent database of the State Intellectual Property Office(SIPO), sorted out the TCM compounds against pain in patents, and analyzed the medication rules to provide references for the research and development of new TCM drugs against pain. The data were subjected to frequency statistics, association rules, cluster analysis, and complex network analysis by IBM SPSS Modeler 18.3 and SPSS Statistical 26.0. The results showed that among the 101 oral prescriptions included in the statistics, the top 5 drugs were Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and among the 49 external prescriptions included in the statistics, the top 5 drugs were Myrrha, Olibanum, Angelicae Dahuricae Radix, Borneolum Syntheticum, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Whether oral or external prescriptions, the drugs were mainly warm in nature, and bitter, pungent, and sweet in flavor. According to TCM complex network analysis, the core drugs were Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Paeoniae Radix Alba, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma in oral prescriptions, and Olibanum, Myrrha, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and Angelicae Sinensis Radix in external prescriptions. Overall, the therapeutic principles of oral prescriptions were mainly replenishing Qi, nourishing blood, and promoting Qi and blood circulation, while those of external prescriptions were activating blood, resolving stasis, promoting Qi flow, and relieving pain on the basis of the oral prescriptions. In the future research and development of TCM compounds against pain, the prescriptions should be modified with mind-tranquilizing and depression-relieving drugs. With the modernization of TCM, the development of new pain-relieving TCM compound patents based on ancient methods and clinical experience adhering to the guidance of TCM treatment based on syndrome differentiation can meet the new demand for pain treatment in the current society and give full play to the advantages of TCM in pain treatment.

The Confusion and Correction of the Technical Investigator System

State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPOC) issued the Provisions on the Participation of Technical Investigation Officers in Administrative Decisions on Patent and IC Layout Design Infringement Disputes (Provisional) in 2021, which is a further improvement of the refined technical investigation officer system, but the “multiple selective” type of service and the “one-person court appearance” model are obvious drawbacks. The disadvantages of the “multi-selective” mode of service and “one person in court” are obvious, and the mode of service of the technical investigator is worth exploring. Should optimize the number of technical investigators in court and the establishment of “full-time driven by part-time” with the mechanism, change the full confidentiality and objectivity of the technical investigation opinions for moderate disclosure, limiting the participation of expert jurors in the first trial of difficult technical facts, with the conflict of rank rules, refining the new rules to identify the problem of difficult cases of opinion attributes.

Does dialect difference impede patent transaction? Evidence from China's inter-city patent license data

This study provides an empirical investigation of technology transfer cost across China's cities by constructing a novel patent license database based on the changes in the patent legal status published by the State Intellectual Property Office of China. We leverage the dialect difference among China's cities to identify the impact of transaction cost on patent licensing. Our estimations employing the gravity model find the followings: First, the number of licenses between cities still decreases significantly with dialect distance after controlling for variables such as the geographical distance. Second, dialect distance does not affect patent licensing between related parties. Third, the dialect distance effect works mainly by affecting trust and contract cost because dialect distance dampens trust, and the dialect effect is stronger for invention patents license and individual licensors. Fourth, the dialect distance effect does not appear to work through the communication and information mechanism because the dialect effect is independent of Putonghua popularity.

Value and influencing factors of valid Traditional Chinese Medicine compound prescription patents for mammary gland hyperplasia.

To explore the value and factors influencing the maintenance of valid Traditional Chinese Medicine compound prescription patents for the management of mammary gland hyperplasia. The State Intellectual Property Office Patents Database, China Patent Information Center Patents Database, Soopat Patent Search Platform, and CNIPR Search Platform of Chinese and Foreign Patent Database were searched to identify Traditional Chinese Medicine compound prescription patents for mammary gland hyperplasia that had been maintained for at least 5 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to detect the factors influencing the maintenance of valid patents. From 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2019, a total of 1228, Traditional Chinese Medicine compound prescription patents for mammary gland hyperplasia were authorized. Of these applications, 381 patents were granted and only 176 patents were maintained for more than 5 years. The five independent variables assessed in this study all had significant explanatory functions. The maintenance of valid patents for Traditional Chinese Medicine compound prescriptions for treating mammary gland hyperplasia is of great importance. The maintenance of such patents depends on many factors, such as the concentration of effective herbs, number of dependent claims, provision of new dosage forms and detailed experimental data, and transfer of patent rights.

Research on enterprise intellectual Property management standard system based on artificial intelligence

With the steady development of modern society and economy, the requirements for intellectual property management of relevant enterprises are getting higher and higher. According to the enterprise intellectual property management of our country put forward normative analysis shows that the state intellectual property office, state administration of market supervision and management, the national standardization management committee in the draft for examination and approval, will this standard as enterprise intellectual property management system and management methods of important basis, provide strong support for enterprise sustainable development. Therefore, on the basis of understanding the development status of artificial intelligence technology and according to the construction and application of enterprise intellectual property management standard system in recent years, this paper deeply discusses the opportunities and challenges faced by enterprise intellectual property management standard system based on artificial intelligence, so as to provide effective basis for future enterprise technology research and development and application.

Foreign Divestment – Crisis or Chance for China's Innovation Edge?

AbstractThe recent move towards decoupling from China, prompted by the 2018 trade conflict, has implications for the innovativeness of Chinese firms. Using patent data from the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office, together with comprehensive firm‐level data, and applying an inverse propensity score reweighting methodology to deal with selection bias, we estimated changes in the patenting activity of firms following ownership transition to Chinese owners, linking these changes to the differential taxation incentives offered to foreign investors. Far from crippling innovation, divestment has sparked an increase in patent applications – including higher end invention patents – and other innovation measures. Together with robustness checks, our estimations suggest a real improvement in innovation rather than just a window‐dressing exercise. We suggest that one possible explanation may be an effort by the new Chinese owners to reduce their tax burden. Our supplementary findings on tax payments and subsidy receipts following divestment appear in line with this interpretation.

Study on Comprehensive Evaluation Based on AHP-MADM Model for Patent Value of Balanced Vehicle

With the development of science and technology, people’s travel modes have become more diversified, and self-balancing vehicles have become a popular travel tool for young people. However, in recent years, due to its quality instability, many regions have issued relevant bans, affecting the development of the balanced vehicle industry. In order to better understand balancing vehicle technology, this paper starts with the balancing vehicle patent, and carries out the following research: This paper first introduces the background and current situation of balanced vehicles and the patent. Then, the principle and model of multi-attribute decision-making based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP-MADM) are described. According to the three-dimensional patent valuation system issued by the State Intellectual Property Office, a core patent valuation system is established. Then, the weights of patent evaluation attributes are calculated by the improved AHP. After, the patent value of the self-balancing vehicle is evaluated using the established AHP-MADM model. On this basis, the status of patent research and the development of self-balancing vehicles is studied to provide a reference for relevant industry personnel, especially R & D personnel, in future product technology updates and patent layout.

The examination of resource tax reform facilitating firms’ green innovation in resource-related industry in China

The impact of resource tax reform on green innovation in resource related industry at micro-firm level is still unknown. By matching data from resource-associated firms in China's A-share market with green patent database from State Intellectual Property Office from 2000 to 2017, and applying Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and difference-in-difference (DID), the research results demonstrate that resource tax reform significantly facilitates firms' green innovation in resource industry and executive compensation intensifies the promoting effect. Further study reveals enterprise profitability works as an intermediary enhancing effect. Our findings on some degree coincide the literature like emissions trading scheme promoting green innovation, which emphasizes ex post or from emission consequences. In contrast, this paper focuses on levying resource tax that is limited to mineral resource-related firms and at the source of resource exploitation, and treats micro-firms as the main body of research unlike existing literature at macro level. More importantly, this paper combines GMM-DID models to solve endogeneity problem. Furthermore, this paper explores the mediating and moderating effects by corporate profitability and executive compensation, which have been neglected by the literature.

The relationship between firms’ corporate social performance and green technology innovation: The moderating role of slack resources1

This study explores the relationship between firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their “green” technology innovation in the context of a developing country with a high level of economic growth (China). Using data from listed companies, green patent authorization data from the State Intellectual Property Office, and social responsibility rating data from Rankin’s CSR Ratings of China from 2009 to 2017, we find that a higher CSR rating is highly positively correlated to green technology innovation as measured by number of green patents granted. Results indicated that corporate social performance plays a contributory role in green technology innovation. We also find that unabsorbed slack resources enhance the positive relationship between CSR rating and the number of green technology patents.

Does green innovation suppress carbon emission intensity? New evidence from China.

The sustainable development of human beings is facing severe challenges in the context of a new era. The effective reduction of carbon emission intensity is essential to achieve the goal of sustainable development. Obviously, green innovation is an important factor in mitigating carbon emission intensity. It is important to measure the effect of green innovation on carbon emission intensity for accelerating industrial transformation and building a circular economy system. Therefore, this paper uses the data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019, obtained by the State Intellectual Property Office, using fixed effects model quantile regression model and Spatial Durbin Model to empirically verify the theoretical hypothesis. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Green innovation inhibits carbon emission intensity. Instrumental variable model and robustness test support this conclusion. (2) For carbon emission intensity under different quantiles, green innovation has a more significant effect on provinces with high carbon emission intensity through "target accountability system" and "reverse coercive system." (3) There is a significant spatial correlation between green innovation in China's provinces. The reduction of carbon emission intensity in the region will benefit from the improvement of green innovation in surrounding cities.

Research on a Comprehensive Index System for Regional Patent Evaluation

With the rapidly increasing number of patent applications in China, each applicant tends to accumulate the quantity of patent, but not the improvement of patent quality. Therefore, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has recently issued a package of notification, which aims to reverse the status quo. However, existing methods of regional patent evaluation still emphasize on quantity rather than quality indices, which leads to biased evaluation results. In this paper, we establish a comprehensive index system for regional patent evaluation. The indicators of the system consist of four dimensions, including quantity, quality, structure, and coordination. This aims to provide a path of high-quality development for regional patent work. Based on the patent data of each city in Sichuan Province in 2020, this paper validated the effectiveness of the comprehensive evaluation system and put forward countermeasures and suggestions.

Targeted generation of Null Mutants in ZmGDIα confers resistance against maize rough dwarf disease without agronomic penalty.

Targeted generation of Null Mutants in ZmGDIα confers resistance against maize rough dwarf disease without agronomic penalty.

Corporate governance, firm performance and innovation: The Case of China’s listed firms engaging in OFDI

ABSTRACT We examine the corporate governance and innovation relationship of China’s listed firms engaging in OFDI activity. Relying on mainstream corporate governance theories, Tobin’s Q as a measure of firm performance, and patents granted as a measure of successful corporate innovation, this study leverages data collected from the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the Chinese Research Data Services Platform as well as the China Stock Market & Accounting Database. Our sample includes 3,337 firms with a total 13,182 firm-year observations from the year 2010 to 2019, divided in two panel datasets including 6,581 firm-year observations for China listed firms engaging in OFDI, and 6,601 firm-year observations for China listed firms not engaging in OFDI. We find that board independence is the corporate governance component with the highest predictive significance on innovation, followed by board size, and that CEO duality is not a significant innovation predictor for China listed firms. We also find high incidence of CEO duality among China listed firms, although less frequent for firms engaging in OFDI, and that China listed firms that engage in OFDI activity are more innovative.

UPORABNI MODEL KAO NOVI OBLIK ZAŠTITE IZUMA

The utility model is a new form for the protection of inventions introduced in the Croatian law by the Patent Act of 2020. It entitles the utility model owner to exclusive right to use and dispose of the invention that is the subject of protection from the date of publication of the utility model registration. The utility model protection validity is ten years from the date of submission of the utility model application, with the payment of the annual maintenance fee. The utility model registration procedure is initiated by a special application. The State Intellectual Property Office examines its conformity with the law and does not examine the novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability of the invention. It does not compose the search report of the state of the art. Certain inventions cannot be protected by the utility model. The Patent Act allows branching off a utility model application from a patent application for the same invention. It also allows conversion of the patent application to a utility model application and vice versa. The utility model owner may request a full examination of the protected invention by the State Intellectual Property Office and conversion of the utility model into a patent. This request may be submitted no later than the end of the seventh year of the validity of the utility model protection. Third parties may request the declaration of nullity of the utility model during the whole period of its validity. The utility model owner is not entitled to sue the persons who infringe his exclusive rights.