District in Guangzhou, China Proposes 2.5 Million RMB Housing Subsidy to Attract Intellectual Property Professionals

On August 17, 2021, the People’s Government of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, China issued an announcement on soliciting opinions on the “Administrative Measures for Intellectual Property Special Funds in Guangzhou High-tech Zone, Guangzhou Development Zone, Huangpu District, Guangzhou (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)” (广州市黄埔区 广州开发区 广州高新区知识产权专项资金管理办法（征求意见稿)).  The draft Measures offer a 2.5 Million RMB (~$384 thousand USD) housing subsidy to 100 intellectual property professionals that relocate to the Huangpu District in Guangzhou, China.

To qualify, per Article 12 of the Measures, one must purchase a housing property in the district and meet the following basic conditions:

1. Be under 50 years old;

2. Have a master’s degree or above, a degree, and a title of deputy senior professional or above (foreigners must prove that they have the same qualifications and abilities);

3. Have more than 15 years of work experience in intellectual property rights, including more than 3 years of work experience in intellectual property rights in international intellectual property organizations, world-renowned enterprises or intellectual property professional service organizations. They have deep theoretical knowledge of intellectual property rights, a high level of policy theory, and are engaged in intellectual property work; and

4. Annual income (income from wages and salaries paid for personal income tax) is not less than 800,000 RMB.

There is also a housing subsidy of up to 500,000 RMB for young professionals who must meet the following conditions:

1. Be under 40 years old;

2. Have a bachelor degree or above;

3. Have more than 5 years of working experience in intellectual property rights, have a good knowledge of basic intellectual property theory, policy theory and professional practical ability, and play an important role in the intellectual property work of the entity;

4. Annual income (income from wages and salaries paid for personal income tax) is not less than 400,000 yuan;

Married intellectual property professionals can only apply for a single subsidy even if both people might otherwise qualify.

Subsidies will be paid in equal installments over 5 years up to 80% of the purchase price of the housing.

Employers of foreign patent attorneys that pass the Chinese patent bar exam are also entitled to a subsidy of 20,000 RMB per Article 13.

Comments are due August 27, 2021.  The full text is available here (Chinese only).

As of the time of this writing, no response has been received from the Mayor’s Office of San Jose, CA nor the Silicon Valley branch of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office on whether they are considering similar policies to attract intellectual property professionals.

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