Zhu Xiaoming, mayor of Zhenjiang, said the smallest city by population in Jiangsu province "would be out of it if we just competed through economic scale."

But intellectual property gives Zhenjiang an edge, she said.

It is among the first group of 23 national IP model cities announced by the State Intellectual Property Office in April.

"Thanks to a strong team with innovative spirit, our city is proud to be in the vanguard of national IP pilot programs," the mayor said. "Providing company-oriented services is at the center of our IP work."

More than 200 of the city's companies have now received training on standard corporate IP management procedures, a practice started in Zhenjiang and later leveraged across the country.

The city is also among the first four pilot sites for patent insurance, with the first such policy from insurer PICC issued to a Zhenjiang company. More than 90 policies have since been granted in the city and 20 more are being processed.

Lu Jieping, deputy chief of the city's IP office, said the city sponsors 75 percent of the first 2,000 yuan ($321) premium for each policy.

Insured firms also receive patent information analysis and dispute pre-warning services from the office.

It is a small amount for companies to pay, but it helps greatly in IP awareness, Lu said.

"Once the idea gains acceptance, entrepreneurs don't regard it as just window dressing any more, but a real key to their sustainable growth for which they voluntarily make continuing investment," he said.

With growing IP awareness, PICC is planning to offer a new kind of patent insurance next year that is designed to cover possible patent disputes at overseas exhibitions, which will be entirely market-based without government involvement, Lu said.

Together, the efforts have helped create an IP-friendly atmosphere in the city, said Mayor Zhu. Invention patent applications from the city surpassed 3,100 in 2011, more than 27 times the number filed in 2005 when Zhenjiang began to bid for the national model city honor.

"We consider IP work a major engine to drive innovation, which matters greatly to the future of our city," said the mayor.

wangxin@chinadaily.com.cn