China International Patent Fair 2004, scheduled for Aug. 18-21 in Dalian, northeast China, will offer a collection of the country's most advanced patented technologies and products, an official said Monday.

Dai Yulin, vice mayor of Dalian and deputy director of the organizing committee, said the fair would include an exhibition of patented technologies, intellectual property forum, a public hearing on petition for void patents and a symposium on designs.

Sponsored by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), the Liaoning provincial government and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the fair will see 800 exhibition stands for new patented technologies, high technology products, brand name products and projects for public bidding, Dai said.

Dozens of patented technologies from more than 10 countries or regions, such as the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, would also be exhibited on the fair, said Dai, adding that the number of visitors is estimated to 150,000 during the fair.

Zhang Qin, vice commissioner of the SIPO, said his office would prepare a special exhibition zone for promoting technologies which were awarded the country's best patents.

Among more than 800,000 patents currently owned by the Chinese, less than 10 percent have been put into commercial production, which experts attributed to the shortage of patent information exchange.

The fair has already been organized twice in Dalian.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2004)