BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Beijing have stepped up the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in a bid to improve the business environment.

Wang Hong, head of the Beijing intellectual property office, Tuesday said the agency handled more than 1,200 patent disputes in 2017, an annual increase of 43.6 percent.

Among them were disputes over shared bikes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that have significant social influence, Wang said.

The Beijing Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce handled 2,300 cases concerning IPR infringement and counterfeit products, up 92 percent from 2016. The city's cultural authorities handled 2,700 cases, up 55 percent.

Meanwhile, courts in Beijing accepted more than 35,000 first-instance IPR-related cases, up 46 percent, and closed over 31,000 cases.

The city will this year establish a center dedicated to providing IPR services to high-tech companies.

The center will offer fast-track services for patent applications for companies in information technology and high-end equipment production, two areas with high demand.

At the frontline of China's fight against IPR infringement, Beijing set up the country's first IPR court in 2014.