The rapid development of the digital economy in Zhejiang province has sparked greater efforts to protect intellectual property rights in data.

The Zhejiang Provincial IPR in Data Registration Platform was launched at the end of April. It is designed to protect the intellectual property rights of data-oriented enterprises and offer them various services, according to Gu Wenhai, deputy director of Zhejiang Intellectual Property Office.

Gu added that an IPR registration certificate for data can be used as preliminary proof of data circulation transactions, allocation of earnings and rights protection.

Hangzhou Shenhao Technology Co is one of the companies that has registered on the platform. It is a high-tech enterprise that specializes in equipment inspection and fault diagnosis.

"At the end of last month, registration measures for IPR in data in Zhejiang were introduced on a trial basis. They will be officially implemented in July this year," said Wang Lei, director of the company's technological center.

"We are now busy with the identification and classification of IPR in data, and still trying to figure out how to protect and safeguard our rights in the future. I am quite confident of the new policy, which will be put into trial use and get more specific during the process," Wang said.

"We took the lead in undertaking the pilot reform of the data intellectual property system authorized by the State Administration for Market Regulation and China National Intellectual Property Administration, in a bid to specify the ownership of data property, utilize innovation resources, and safeguard rights and interests," Gu said.

More efforts will be made to accelerate the data registration process, expand the usage of data registration credentials, enrich data transaction scenarios and promote the pilot project, Gu added.

Zhejiang introduced one of the country's earliest regulations on the protection of IPR in data. In September, it proposed the establishment of a system for the protection and use of IPR in data.

The regulation aims to enhance the value of data resources, ensure data security and boost the high-quality development of the digital economy.

"So far, 14 enterprises in the province have obtained 97 million yuan ($13.6 million) through financing of IPR in data," Gu said.

Earlier, China released a 15-year plan (2021-35) on the development of IPR power. The plan said that China's protection of intellectual property rights will be much stricter by 2025, with a high level of public satisfaction and greater market value of IPR.