During a ceremony on July 16, State Intellectual Property Office Commissioner Tian Lipu issued a patent certificate on the spot to the Beijing Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture to mark the 1 millionth invention patent granted in China.

In comments during the ceremony, Tian recalled that SIPO issued the first Chinese patent certificate to the No 207 Institute of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp in 1986.

The millionth patent came for an invention that uses 3-D technology to help agricultural researchers analyze and assist crop growth, said Xiao Boxiang, one of the inventors.

Tian said that "behind the patents are millions of inventors involved in technology research who contribute to improving China's innovation capacity and the country's change to an innovation-driven country".

SIPO has received more than 3 million applications for invention patents since the nation's first patent law took effect in 1985.

Of the 1 million granted, 518,000 came from China.

A key indicator of a country's innovation capacity, invention patents are playing increasingly crucial role in promoting change in the country's development model and optimizing the industrial structure, Tian said.

Especially with innovations in booming and emerging industries that are growing fast worldwide, creating more intellectual property is crucial to reaching the pinnacle of the global economic landscape and sharpening the country's core competitiveness, he said.

Tian noted that the US issued its 2 millionth patent last year. Despite the difference in numbers and the quality of patents, Tian said he is confident Chinese inventors can make better use of the IP system and contribute more.

Twenty-six years after the country issued its first patent to the No 207 Institute of CASIC, the country has made marked achievements in space programs, including the latest success in manned docking with China's space lab. The nation's IP work has also rocketed in the ensuing years, Tian noted.

The number of invention patents has risen at an average annual rate of 26.8 percent in the country since 2001.

In 2011 alone, SIPO issued 172,000 invention patent certificates, an increase of 27.4 percent over 2010 and nearly 11 times the number granted in 2001.

Domestic applicants are a major force behind the boom, with their invention filings growing at an average annual rate of 36.5 percent over the past decade.

Chinese applicants were awarded close to two-thirds of the invention patents granted last year, a considerable rise compared with fewer than one-third in 2001.

"As a researcher, I'm deeply impressed at the improvement in our country's IP system," Xiao said. "On the one hand, it inspires our interest in creation and promotes innovation capacity of the entire country, and on the other hand it provides development opportunities for research institutes like my center."

The Chinese government's focus on IP work has shifted from building a system to promoting effective use of the system, Tian said.

He cited speeches by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao at a recent congress of science and technology emphasizing the importance of increasing creation, use, management and protection of IP and promoting industrialization.

Contact the writer at wangxin@chinadaily.com.cn.