BEIJING -- The number of patent applications in Beijing hit nearly 190,000 in 2016, up 21 percent year on year, according to local authorities.

Among the applications, more than 100,000 were for invention patents, which increased around 17 percent from a year earlier, said Pan Xinsheng, spokesperson of the Beijing intellectual property bureau Wednesday.

Last year, more than 40,000 invention patents were authorized, up 15 percent year on year, among a total of over 100,500 recognized patents.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court handled over 10,600 intellectual property rights (IPR) cases in 2016.

Specialized IPR courts were established in 2014 in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, leading to a significant improvement in IPR regulation.