Valid invention patents in Qingdao have surpassed the 100,000 mark, with nearly 9,000 enterprises holding such patents, accounting for approximately 72.05% of the city's total valid inventions.
Intellectual property serves as a crucial representation of technological and innovation outcomes. In recent years, Qingdao has focused on stimulating innovation vitality through a series of policy measures, including strengthening policy guidance, optimizing factor allocation, and advancing patent industrialization. These efforts have driven the entire chain of intellectual property creation, application, and protection, with key indicators maintaining strong growth momentum.
As of the end of June 2026, the total number of valid invention patents in Qingdao has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, according to the Municipal Market Supervision Administration. The number of valid invention patents per 10,000 residents reached 96.47, and valid trademark registrations totaled 594,000, both ranking first in the province. Since the beginning of this year, the number of PCT international patent applications has reached 453, accounting for more than half of the province's total, with various innovation indices continuing to lead the province.
Behind these impressive figures lies the continuous consolidation and precise efforts of enterprises as the mainstay of innovation. Currently, nearly 9,000 enterprises in the city hold valid invention patents, with a total of 73,000 such patents held by enterprises, representing 72.05% of the city's total, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the end of last year. This reflects a sustained rise in the endogenous driving force of enterprise innovation and development.
Enterprises are the mainstay of technological innovation and a vital force driving innovation and creation. Over the years, market supervision departments have strengthened the tiered cultivation of enterprises, guiding them to implement international and national standards for intellectual property, achieving standardization and normalization in management systems, which has significantly enhanced their technological innovation capabilities.
This year, 21 enterprises in Qingdao have successfully been selected as candidates for the 2025-2027 National Intellectual Property Demonstration Enterprise Creation List, covering key industries such as intelligent manufacturing, biomedicine, and new energy. The total number of national intellectual property advantage demonstration enterprises in the city has reached 290, making them typical representatives of enterprises persisting in innovation-driven development and deeply cultivating intellectual property.
For example, Teld, relying on a 1,200-person R&D team, has obtained 1,400 intellectual property rights, undertaken 10 major national scientific research projects, and conquered 20 core key technologies of the charging network. Its service network now covers 366 cities across the country. Similarly, Haier Group, consistently adhering to an innovation-driven philosophy, has been approved to establish a national-level industrial intellectual property operation center and a provincial-level key industry patent pool construction project.
At the same time, innovation momentum in key fields has been continuously strengthened, with the patent leading effect of advantageous industries being particularly prominent. Qingdao focuses on special tracks such as smart home appliances, high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, and the marine economy, continuously strengthening the cultivation of high-value patents. The number of valid invention patents held by leading enterprises in the city's "10+1" innovative industrial system has reached 38,000.
In the recently announced results of the 26th China Patent Awards, Qingdao won one gold medal, three silver medals, and 13 excellence awards, accounting for 42.5% of the total awards in the province. This demonstrates both a quantitative and qualitative leap in high-value patents.
In recent years, Qingdao has continuously strengthened the cultivation of high-value patents, the transformation of intellectual property achievements, and the empowerment and cultivation of innovation entities. It has been actively stimulating the city's internal innovation drive, promoting the deep integration of intellectual property with the real economy and leading industries, and consolidating the foundation for high-quality innovation.
Relying on the platform advantages of the national-level intellectual property protection center, Qingdao has opened up professional service channels such as rapid patent pre-examination and rapid rights protection, providing full-process efficient support for the cultivation, declaration, and authorization of high-value patents for various innovation entities. The city also focuses on activating the source innovation momentum of universities and research institutes, actively guiding and precisely empowering them to apply for provincial-level high-value patent cultivation center projects. Leveraging the research advantages of universities and research institutes, it deeply cultivates frontier technology patent portfolios and continuously expands the reserve of high-end patent achievements.
Furthermore, Qingdao has deeply implemented the special action for patent transformation and application, addressing the challenges of "not finding, not daring to transfer, and not knowing how to transfer" patents. It supports the transformation and application of patents in emerging fields, strengthens the public service supply for tackling key core technologies in emerging areas, and promotes the process of patent industrialization.