The National Intellectual Property Administration has approved the inclusion of innovation entities from the Macao Special Administrative Region in the patent pre-examination services offered by the Zhuhai Intellectual Property Protection Center, authorities announced recently.

Eligible innovators from Macao will be able to access patent pre-examinations provided by the center, facilitating the strategic patent portfolio for their scientific and technological achievements.

Guangdong province, which neighbors Hong Kong and Macao, has maintained close scientific and technological exchanges with the two SARs. Earlier, innovation entities from the Hong Kong SAR were already included in the patent pre-examination services of the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Protection Center.

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The extension of pre-examination services to innovators in Macao is expected to help the city better integrate into the country's overall development and contribute more intellectual property strengths to the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Chen Yanshan contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com