China's newly released 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for Intellectual Property Protection and Utilization establishes six major anticipatory targets, signaling a strategic shift from patent quantity toward quality, commercialization, and deeper economic integration.
The six indicators are:
· High-value invention patents per 10,000 people
· Value added of IP-intensive industries as a share of GDP
· Value added of copyright industries as a share of GDP
· Total imports and exports of IP royalties
· Direct output value of geographical indication (GI) products
· Public satisfaction with IP protection
Together, they form a chain from high-quality creation and industrial application to market value realization and business environment optimization.
"High-value invention patents" are defined by four criteria:
· Patents in strategic emerging industries (over 70 percent of the current total)
· Patents with foreign patent family members
· Patents maintained for over 10 years
· Patents that have received national prizes
The target is set at more than 22 per 10,000 people by 2030, up by six from the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.
Notably, direct GI product output has been included for the first time, signaling a shift in GI development from protection toward market value realization through deep processing, branding, agri-tourism integration, and overseas expansion.
These indicators collectively steer China's IP sector toward three transitions: from IP importer to creator, from quantity-driven growth to quality improvement, and from patent ownership to tangible economic returns, which will ultimately support high-level scientific innovation, opening-up, and market system development.
