BEIJING, Jan. 15 -- China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) said Wednesday that the country accepted 825,000 invention patent applications in 2013, up 26.3 percent year on year.

Shen Changyu, head of the SIPO, said the office concluded 355,000 patent applications and authorized 208,000 last year.

The country strengthened protecting of intellectual property and handled 16,227 related cases, up 79.8 percent year on year, of which 5,056 cases were patent disputes, Shen said.