A 2013 global innovation report released by media and information firm Thomson Reuter said that in 12 key sectors, including computer, auto, medical equipment and cosmetics, about 60 percent of invention patent applications in the Asia-Pacific region were from Japan, while China's contribution was less than 24 percent.

IP-intensive industries contributed less than 27 percent of China's GDP, while the figure was 34 percent in the US, Wu said. He called for more efforts towards patent commercialization.

He Jia, executive president of Incoshare, a technology information provider, noted the importance of an "easy, trusted" database for decision makers in companies and governments.

It needs to be comprehensive, updated on time and contain not only patent documentation, but also "other resources like industrial standards and legal information", He said.

A reliable, user-friendly database would help locate key information in a vast sea of data, he added.

He cited a database provided by his company as an example. He said it released patent information of more than 2,000 listed companies in the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

He said the tool helped divert capital flows to the real innovation-driven companies, rather than being pushed or begged by governments to invest. He added that investors would voluntarily fund tech firms they have confidence in after studying the patent data.

"A critical component in the effective information management in our company is accessibility - that people have the ability to get the information they need when they need it," said Paul Fehlner, IP head of Novartis Pharma AG.

"It's really important for our business people as well to know what a patent situation is for a product in a given country, in order to have effective business planning," he added.

"We can have the most creative legal theories, we can have the most creative technology, but if we don't file a patent application on time and correctly, if we don't respond to (IP) office action on time and effectively...all their value in technology and legal argument will be lost," Fehlner said. "If you're not on time, you lose your rights."

Since its debut in 2010, the Patent Information Annual Conference has grown into an increasingly open, international and influential platform for exchanges between IP institutes, companies and financiers, according to Bai Guangqing, president of Intellectual Property Publishing House, the host of the event.

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