China’s increasing number of patent filings
6/08/2009

Worldwide filing of patent applications generally increases substantially every year, with China being one of the biggest contributors to the annual increase of worldwide patent filings. In 2005, China became the third largest patent filing country. According to the 2008 edition of the World Patent Report of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China’s share of total worldwide patent fillings rose from 1.8% to 7.3% during the periods from 2000 to 2006. During the same periods, the total number of patent applications filed worldwide by applicants from China increased by 32.1%.

China’s Patent Office has become one of the largest recipients of patent filings. In 2007, China’s Patent Office received 694,153 patent filings and in 2008 it received 828,328 patent filings, a growth rate of 19.4% over the previous year. There has also been a substantial increase in patent applications filed by both domestic applicants and foreign applicants. In 2005 China experienced the highest growth rate in resident patent filings, increasing by 42.1%. In 2008, China’s domestic residents filed 717,144 patent applications and foreign applicants filed 11.184 patent applications, a 22.3% and 3.5% increase respectively over the previous year.

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filings in China have also increased. Between 2005 and 2006, China experienced a growth rate of 56.5% in international applications under the PCT and in 2008 received 6,089 PCT applications, an 11.9% increase over 2007. According to an article by Stephen Young, published in the World Intellectual Property Review, China is now ranked six in the world in terms of the number of PCT international applications.

The 2008 edition of WIPO’s World Patent Report also shows a substantial increase in the number of patents granted to applicants from China. The number of patents granted to applicants from China increased by an annual average of 26.5% during the periods of 2000 to 2006. Stephen Young’s article states that in 2008, China granted 411,982 patents, a 17.1% increase over the previous year.

This continuous increase in China’s filings, both by resident and foreign applicants, demonstrates an increase in China’s recognition of the patent system and an increase in innovative technology developments within China. Although China is still highly perceived as the hub of counterfeit and pirated goods, China is becoming a real player in the field of Intellectual Property protection and its growth rate in patent fillings can possibly result in China being the leading filing country in the future.

Nonkululeko Khumbuza
Candidate Attorney nonkululeko-k@adamsadams.co.za