The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recently approved Hai'an, a county-level city in Nantong, Jiangsu province, to establish a national intellectual property rights protection center for furniture industry.

The center will exchange data with the CNIPA and provide a one-stop service for the furniture industry from preliminary examination, rights confirmation, and collaborative protection to navigational operations for design patents. It aims to help shorten the authorization process for design patents from a minimum of one month to as quickly as five days.

The furniture industry is a featured, pillar, and wealth-generating industry in Hai'an. The city has cultivated an industrial cluster in the furniture sector that encompasses designing, manufacturing, logistics and sales. With an annual output value of 41 billion yuan ($5.74 billion), the industry accounts for 5 percent of the national total.

The establishment of this center will also increase Nantong's count of national-level intellectual property rights protection centers to three, ranking it first in the province.

An aerial view of a furniture manufacturing enterprise in Hai'an, Nantong. [Photo/ntjoy.com]