By the end of 2022, the national intellectual property insurance service had cumulatively provided more than rmb 110 billion in risk guarantees for over 46,000 patents, trademarks, geographical indications and integrated circuit map designs for over 28,000 enterprises. The first white paper on the development of intellectual property insurance in china (2022), published on 8 february (hereinafter referred to as the white paper), presents our report card on intellectual property insurance。
Intellectual property insurance is the insurance against which the insured person is liable for financial losses resulting from insurance accidents when carrying out intellectual property activities such as the creation, protection, use, management and services of intellectual property rights. The director of the centre for research on the development of intellectual property rights of the national intellectual property administration, white sword, described the exploration of patent insurance, which had been under way since 2011. In 2015, the central committee of the communist party and the state council issued the opinions on deepening institutional reforms to accelerate the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, which, for the first time, set out in a central document the deployment requirements for “accelerating the development of science and technology insurance and advancing the patent insurance pilot”. Subsequently, various ipr insurance policies continued to be introduced, greatly contributing to the development of ipr insurance。
The white paper, published jointly by the research centre for intellectual property development of the national intellectual property administration and the china people's property insurance corporation, states that our intellectual property insurance covers almost all types of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, the design of integrated circuits, new varieties of plants and commercial secrets, and covers all aspects of intellectual property creation, protection and application。
The vice-president of china for financial insurance and insurance stated that our intellectual property insurance provided risk protection for specialized new enterprises, enriched the channels for the conversion of intellectual property rights and promoted the upgrading of the innovative capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises。
At the same time, the development of intellectual property insurance in our country faces a number of challenges。
The deputy director of the research centre on intellectual property development of the national intellectual property administration, hu jun, analysed intellectual property as an intangible asset, which is more difficult to assess and dispose of than tangible assets, and more uncertain about potential risks. The impact of the volatility of intellectual property rights (iprs) is more varied than that of other intangible assets, including not only the technical aspects of iprs themselves, but also factors such as industrial development, scientific and technological evolution, international trends, and a high degree of reliance on the operational capacity of innovation subjects and the external environment. As a result, intellectual property assessments are more complex than assessments of tangible assets, more demanding for evaluators and need to be supported by more and richer data and information analysis。
At the operational level, insurance companies are also required to assume a higher “care obligation” than general property insurance in the design and audit of ip insurance products, high risk of adverse selection, and the need for developers to accurately identify the potential value of iprs, recognizing the benefits of conversion and organic integration of iprs with insurance products, which places greater demands on insurance companies' risk reviews and expertise reserves。
According to hu, affected by these factors, intellectual property rights can be the object of financial products, with high demands on their own quality and transformational value. Although the quality of intellectual property creation in our country is improving, there are still a large number of poorly regulated intellectual property rights (iprs) in small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) whose value has not been sufficiently stimulated and transformed. In the light of current intellectual property insurance practices, the coverage of the various intellectual property insurance products needs to be further expanded, and many market players are still unaware of the role and significance of intellectual property insurance and continue to be accustomed to traditional risk retention, which in part limits the development of intellectual property insurance。
In response to these issues, the white paper recommends continuous improvement of working mechanisms, innovative working methods, optimization of risk control and enrichment of insurance products and services. There is a need to strengthen synergies among the various actors and to invest in an inclusive intellectual property insurance (ipr) full-process service. The value assessment of intellectual property needs to be explored in depth on a continuous basis, improving the valuation methods and risk controls of intellectual property. Capacity-building of professional teams and institutions involved in intellectual property insurance should be strengthened, and research and analysis of priority needs and challenges should be developed in order to promote a deeper integration of intellectual property and finance。
