The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has declassified and released over 3,000 military patents as part of its new civil-military integration program espoused by Chinese president Xi Jinping.

Of this total, 2,346 were released to the public by the National Defense Intellectual Property Office of the Equipment Development Department of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) to promote civilian use, said the PLA.

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The declassified patents were published on the online PLA Weapon Equipment Acquisition Information Network. Information on this network includes the patent name, patent number, patentee, abstract and technical information.

They cover a wide range of ideas with great potential for both military and civilian uses. These include aircraft design, vehicle design, image processing, materials, communications, measurement and control.

This is the first time selective military patents have been declassified and released to the general public. China's national defense patent system has been in existence for more than 30 years.

PLA noted this declassification is part of its "from military to civilian" program aimed at enhancing interaction in technology information between the military and civilian sector.

This interaction will ultimately benefit the development of civil-military integration, a key step in building a massive military industrial complex similar to the one that allows the U.S. military to dominate the world with advanced weapons and technology.

"The release of declassified national defense patents is significant for the country, the national defense research units and those who work in the science and technology fields," said Yu Qifeng from the PLA National University of Defense Technology.

A review since 2015 of the classification levels of authorized national defense patents led to this large-scale declassification and a release through the PLA Weapon Equipment Acquisition Information Network.

The next step will be to develop specific regulations of the classification and declassification of national defense patents and carry out regular releases of declassified national defense patents.

TagsPeople's Liberation Army, patents, National Defense Intellectual Property Office, Equipment Development Department, Central Military Commission, PLA Weapon Equipment Acquisition Information Network