On September 26, 2023, the Shenzhen Municipal Administration for Market Regulation issued Operation Rules for Special Funds for Intellectual Property Rights, which proposes to eliminate financial subsidies for grants of both Chinese and foreign patents by the end of 2023.

On January 27, 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced in the “Notice of the CNIPA on Further Strictly Regulating Patent Application Behavior” the end of all patent subsidies by 2025. Shenzhen plans to eliminate them by the time 2023 is over.
Specifically, Shenzhen suggests cancelling the provision of 1,500 RMB for Chinese invention patents, 17,000 RMB for European Patent Office (EPO) patents, 4,500 RMB for US or Japanese patents, and smaller amounts for other jurisdictions, up to 10 million RMB per year per company.

However, rewards to “promote the cultivation of high-value patents” remain, including annual rewards of 500,000 RMB for companies. High-value patents are the following:
1. Invention patents for strategic emerging industries.
2. Invention patents with corresponding foreign patents.
3. Invention patents maintained for more than 10 years.
4. Invention patents that received the National Science and Technology Award and the China Patent Award.

The proposed changes do not affect national-level incentives such as the High and New Tech Enterprise (HNTE) program that provides lower corporate tax rates based partly on patent ownership.