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The SIPO published in Beijing on January 18, 2018 the statistics and associated conditions of the major works in 2017.
I. Major Statistics
In 2017, the amount of patent application for invention in China reached 1,382,000, increasing by 14.2% year-on-year, among which, 420,000 applications have been granted a patent for invention, including 327,000 patented domestic inventions, increasing by 8.2% year-on-year.
304,000 out of the patented domestic inventions are service inventions, covering 92.8%; while non-service inventions amount to 23,000, covering 7.2%.
In 2017, top ten enterprises of China (excluding enterprises in Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan) in terms of the mount of granted patent for invention are in turn listed in the follows: State Grid (3622 patents), Huawei Technologies Co. (3293 patents), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (2567 patents), BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd (1845 patents), ZTE Corporation (1699 patents), Lenovo (Beijing) Co., Ltd (1454 patents), Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai (1273 patents), Guang Dong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd (1222), China National Petroleum Corporation (1008 patents), Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (Shanghai) (862 patents).
By the end of 2017, the patent ownership in China (excluding Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan) amounted to 1,356,000 patents, averaging 9.8 patents for each 10,000 head of population. The top ten provinces (districts, cities) of China in terms of patent ownership for each 10,000 head of population rank as: Beijing (94.5 patents), Shanghai (41.5 patents), Jiangsu (22.5 patents), Zhejiang (19.7 patents), Guangdong (19.0 patents), Tianjin (18.3 patents), Shanxi (8.9 patents), Fujian (8.0 patents), Anhui (7.7 patents) and Liaoning (76 patents).
In 2017, the SIPO has totally received 51,000 PCT patent applications, gaining a year-on-year increase of 12.5%. 48,000 of these PCT patent applications are from domestic regions, increasing by 12.5% on the previous period.
There are 7 provinces (districts, cities) having more than 1000 PCT patent applications, namely Guangdong (26,800 applications), Beijing (5,100 applications), Jiangsu (6,400 applications), Shanghai (2,100 applications), Shandong (1,700 applications), Zhejiang (1,400 applications), and Hubei (1,300 applications). These 7 regions together have taken more than 90 percent of the total amount of PCT applications in China.
In 2017, China has 5,608 patent application publications in the countries along “The Belt and Road”, gaining an increase of 16.0% on the previous period. Among these applications, 2,724 applications are published in India and 1,354 are published in Russia, starting to form a scale. In the same year, the countries along “The Belt and Road” totally filed 4, 319 patent applications in China, increasing by 16.8% as compared with 2016. There are 41 countries that have filed patent applications in China, 4 more than in 2016.
In 2017, a total of 67,000 cases of administrative enforcement of law involving patents have been handled throughout China, increasing 36.3% on the previous period. Among these cases, 28,000 cases are patent disputes (including 27,000 cases of patent infringement disputes), increasing by 35.0% on the previous period; and 39,000 are investigation and punishment for falsifying a patent, increasing by 37.2% on the previous period.
The amount of patent collateral financing reached 72 billion yuan in 2017, gaining a year-on-year increase of 65%, with the number collateral items reaching 4,177, increasing by 60% on the previous period.
The Patent Reexamination Board have received 34,123 requests for reexamination in 2017, increasing by 160% on the previous period, and 4,565 request for invalidation declaration, increasing by 15% on the previous period.
In 2017, the SIPO has continued intensifying reform to streamline administration, delegate more powers, improve regulation, and provide better services. Throughout the whole year, a total of 5.8 billion yuan of patent fee has been reduced or remitted; 2.698 million copies of various documents have been omitted from submission. The Administrative Measures for Prioritized Patent Examination was enacted to support development of key industries. Intensive governance against the act of “license renting” of patent attorneys has been conducted to further regulate the market, with pilot projects for patent agency reform being launched in 12 provinces including Sichuan. Throughout the year, there are 324 patent agencies being permitted to be established, 150 of which enjoyed reform pilot policies. The procedures of the Patent Attorney Qualification Examination have been improved. The optimized examination has embraced 32,000 candidates, and 5,094 of them have passed the examination, both reaching a historic high. By the end of 2017, the number of patent agencies around the country has reached a breakout 1,824, with more than 1,600 practicing patent attorneys.
I. Main Features
First, the level of inventions and patents of China is undergoing steady growth. In 2017, both the amount of domestic patent application for inventions and the amount of granted patents embraced a prudent increase, respectively gaining a growth of 15.4% and a growth of 8.2% over 2016. The amount of patents of invention for each 10,000 heads of population has reached 9.8 patents, 1.8 more than the number at the end of 2016. Among the patent applications and patent ownership, the coverage of domestic applications further improved, taking up 90.2% and 67.8% in each. The increase rate of patent applications for inventions in the regions of middle and western part of China has reached 27.4%, with 16.8 percent higher than the regions of eastern part of China, obtaining a more balanced regional development.
Second, the position of domestic enterprises as the main body of invention is consolidated. In 2017, enterprises have respectively taken up 63.3% and 66.4% among the amount of patent applications and patent ownership. Enterprises have contributed 73.5% to the increase of domestic patent application for inventions. 70.9% of the patents for inventions of domestic enterprises can remain effective for 5 years or more, the number increasing 3.4% over 2016.
Third, the capability of Chinese enterprises for oversea patent layout is increasing. In 2017, 44 Chinese enterprises have each filed more than 100 PCT patent applications, 18 more than in 2016. Enterprises such as Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd and Shenzhen DJI-Innovations Corp., Ltd are undergoing a roaring growth at a growth rate of 142.3% and 46.9%, respectively. China remains a rapid increase of patent application in the countries of “The Road and Belt” while enterprises are intensifying patent layouts, obtaining the preliminary effect of collaboration and exchange of “The Road and Belt” in intellectual property rights.
Fourth, the patent layout in some fields is still behind foreign countries. Among the 35 technical field divided by the World Intellectual Property Organization, there are 30 fields where the amount of domestic patent ownership in 2017 is higher than foreign-owned patents filed in China, 1 more than in 2016. China merely has slight distance from foreign countries in 5 technical fields, namely optics, medical technology, engine, audio-video technology and transportation. But in view of the ownership of invention patents remaining more than 10 years, China is still behind foreign countries in 29 technical fields. Therefore, it is still desired for China to intensify efforts to culture core patent of high value.
