East China's Zhejiang province ranked second among all provincial-level regions in a national assessment of performance in protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) over the first half of this year, according to a recent briefing by the Zhejiang Administration for Market Regulation.

It is the province's best ever ranking in the assessment. To date, Zhejiang has a total of 175,000 valid invention patents, the third highest number among all provincial-level regions, and the province's total number of registered trademarks is 2.71 million, the second highest in the country.

The province investigated 1,903 IPR infringement cases in H1, involving 28.82 million yuan ($4.2 million). Of these cases, 98 were transferred to judiciary authorities. The Zhejiang cyberspace administration handled some 40 website posts in violation of IPR in H1. Meanwhile, a total of 1,637 IPR disputes were solved in the province's various arbitration centers.

The Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress specifically stipulates IPR protection for private enterprises in the regulations it implemented this year to promote the province’s private companies. The provincial legislature is also reviewing a draft of regulations to promote the province's digital economy, which specifies that internet platform operators are obligated to protect IPR.

The Zhejiang Provincial Government is also planning to set up IPR protection regulations related to the 19th Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, the provincial capital, in 2022.