China's IP-Related Figures for 2010
China's official IP-related statistics for year 2010 have been recently released. The following are some major figures which reflect China's IP activities and IPR protection during the past year, including those related to patent applications and grants, PCT international applications, valid patents to date, trademark applications and registrations, software copyright registrations and customs protection.
Patent Applications and Grants
In 2010, a total of 1,222,286 applications for patents (comprising invention, utility model and design) were received by the State Intellectual Property Office of the PRC (SIPO), representing an increase of 25.1% over the previous year. Of all the applications, 1,109,428 (90.8%) were domestic filings and 112,858 (9.2%) foreign filings.
Applications for Three Kinds of Patents Received by SIPO from Home and Abroad 2010
|
|
Invention
|
Utility Model
|
Design
|
Total
|
||||
|
|
Number
|
Share
in total
|
Number
|
Share
in total
|
Number
|
Share
in total
|
Number
|
Share
in total
|
|
Domestic
|
293,066
|
74.9%
|
407,238
|
99.4%
|
409,124
|
97.1%
|
1,109,428
|
90.8%
|
|
Foreign
|
98,111
|
25.1%
|
2,598
|
0.6%
|
12,149
|
2.9%
|
112,858
|
9.2%
|
|
Total
|
391,177
|
100%
|
409,836
|
100%
|
421,273
|
100%
|
1,222,286
|
100%
|
In 2010, 815,000 patents (comprising invention, utility model and design) were granted by SIPO, reflecting a rise of 40.0% over the previous year. Of all the patents granted, 741,000 (90.9%) were issued to domestic filers, and 74,000 (9.1%) to foreign filers.
PCT International Applications
In terms of international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 2010, incomplete statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) show that PCT filings originated from China amounted to 12,337 in 2010, a surge of 56.2% compared with 7,900 in 2009. China now ranks fourth in terms of filing volume among all PCT filing countries, following the top three countries of the US (44,855 applications), Japan (32,156 applications) and Germany (17,171 applications).
As for enterprise's performance by PCT filing volume in 2010, the Chinese enterprises ZTE Corporation and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. stood in second (1,863 applications) and fourth (1,528 applications) positions respectively among global counterparts, with Panasonic Corporation from Japan occupying a top slot (2,154 applications).
WIPO's statistics further reveal that worldwide PCT filings reached 162,900 in 2010, a 4.8% increase over 2009. The growth momentum was most significantly felt in the field of digital communication, with 10,581 applications during the year, representing a 17.3% year-on-year rise; the biggest drop in filing volume was seen in traditional communication, with 6,230 filings during the year, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 15%.
Valid Patents
China housed a total of 2,216,082 valid patents as of the end of 2010, of which 1,825,403 were owned by domestic patentees (82.4% of the total), and 390,679 owned by foreign patentees (17.6%). By kinds of patents, 564,760 of the total were invention patents, 857,968 utility model patents, and 793,354 design patents.
Trademark Applications and Registrations
Applications for trademark registration in China for year 2010 reached 1,072,000; on accumulative basis, applications for trademark registration amounted to 8,295,000, approved registrations to 5,628,000, and approved registrations in force to 4,604,000 as of the end of 2010. In each of the categories mentioned above, China was ranked the first globally.
By the end of 2010, the Chinese Trademark Office (CTMO) has received 154,000 cumulative international registrations designating mainland China under the Madrid System, rendering China the top receiving country for the sixth year in a row. At the other end, 11,415 domestic applicants filed with CTMO for international trademark registration, placing China the first on the list of developing countries.
Software Copyright Registrations
In 2010, China's software copyright registrations exceeded 80,000. Between 2006 and 2010, software copyright registrations nationwide maintained an average annual growth of 37%, amounting to 81,966 in 2010 compared with 21,495 in 2006, and aggregating 241,591 over the five years. Among software registrations in 2010, growth is more obviously seen in those for game software, which had 2,643 registrations, representing an increase of 37.51% over the previous year.
Customs Protection
In 2010, the China Customs seized 20,155 batches of IPR infringing goods for import or export, and detained 108 million pieces of goods worth RMB 249 million yuan.
During the year, 3,020 IP recordals were approved by the General Administration of Customs of the PRC.
