Shenzhen is set to launch Asia’s first equity index on technology patents next year. Ocean Tomo, a Chicago-based merchant bank that is helping the Shenzhen government to set up the index, said two cities – one from Europe and another from Asia – would emerge in the next two years as the region’s trading centers of copyrights, patents, trademarks, and franchises. Chicago is the center for North America. In Asia, Hong Kong is competing with Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, and Middle Eastern cities to become the region’s center. While Hong Kong says it has an advantage because of its rule of law and existing role as a financial hub, the city lags Singapore and Beijing in its ability to grant patents. Although Hong Kong had more than 11,702 patent filings last year – nearly 20% more than Singapore’s – the city does not yet have a common platform where patents and trademarks can be traded on an open market. The Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will organize the city’s first “IP Expo” on December 2. On the mainland, there are already 43 exchange centers that provide such services, including business-matching and valuation of patents. Ocean Tomo 300 Patent Index, or OTPAT, is the world’s sole patent equity index provider, offering investors the opportunity to trade technology patents held by firms such as Boeing, Microsoft and Adobe. However, Shenzhen will soon become the world’s second city to have such a system. The U.S. Patent Office has been around for 200 years, and it files three-quarters of a million patents a year. China’s patent office was founded in 1985, but this year it has already filed more patents than the United States, according to Ocean Tomo.