A patent owner whose invention has hit a dead end since it was authorized by the State Intellectual Property Bureau due to an administrative error has received 3,354.50 yuan (US$405) in compensation, reports Beijing Times.

Wang Xiangdong applied for a patent for a kind of rolling mop in February 2001.

However, the State Intellectual Property Bureau published Wang's contact address incorrectly in its official patent journal when it awarded the patent rights to Wang in December of that year.

Wang believed the bureau's mistake caused his patent to flop since people who might have been interested in his invention could not reach him.

The Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court found the bureau at fault, ordering it to compensate him and re-publish information about Wang's patent within 30 working days.

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