Just in:
Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // Hong Kong Seen Granting Mainland Investors Access to Crypto via ETFs // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Party Nominees Refusing To Contest: Major Perception Threat For BJP // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Floki & TokenFi eyes MENA // In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo // HSBC Streamlines Gold Investment for Hong Kong Residents with Tokenized Product // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Employer Obligations Tighten: 30-Day Deadline for Emirati Employee Registration with GPSSA //
HomeFT SelectChina first to record 1m patent filings in a year

China first to record 1m patent filings in a year

1c507500 b224 11e6 9c37 5787335499a0

China has become the first country to receive more than 1m patent applications in a single year — a record the World Intellectual Property Organisation said reflected “extraordinary” levels of innovation in the world’s most populous nation. 

“[The Chinese] are making innovation a central part of their economic strategy,” Francis Gurry, director-general of the UN agency, said at a briefing in Geneva. 

ADVERTISEMENT

While sceptics have long argued that China’s patent figures are skewed by state-driven filing targets, intellectual property lawyers argue that they also reflect the country’s growing inventiveness. 

“The Chinese government still wants people to file patents and they get explicit and implicit rewards for doing so,” said Erick Robinson, a Beijing-based patent lawyer. “But the quality of patents in China is improving at breathtaking speed.” 

According to Wipo figures, China’s patent office received 1,101,864 applications in 2015 from both domestic and foreign filers, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the global total and more than the next three countries — the US, Japan and Korea — combined. 

“Once again we see an increasing dominance by Asia as the origin of filing activity for intellectual property,” Mr Gurry added, noting that Asian countries had received more than 60 per cent of total patent filings last year. 

“The Chinese government’s strategic policies are encouraging innovation,” said Zhang Xuemei at Janlea, a Beijing intellectual property agency. “Chinese companies are also more aware of the importance of protecting their IP.”

Mr Robinson cited WeChat, the social media platform developed by internet group Tencent, as an example of Chinese innovation at its best. “WeChat took some functionality from a lot of other applications but just made it better,” he said.

However, Yang Yuzhou, a Shanghai patent lawyer at Dacheng Law, noted that China, unlike the US, recognises “utility model” patents, which are typically easier to secure and protect inventions for a shorter period of time than standard patents. “It’s also much cheaper to file for patents in China than in the US and Japan,” he said. 

China is also becoming an increasingly attractive jurisdiction for patent infringement disputes, given the speed with which its court system processes cases. Companies whose intellectual property has been stolen can also secure bans that prevent the infringing party from selling in China’s vast market or exporting from the country — a crippling blow given China’s centrality to global supply chains.

In terms of overseas filings, US patent holders lodged the most applications, ahead of Japan and Germany. Mr Gurry said this reflected the importance of trade and foreign investment to the US business community. 

President-elect Donald Trump has, however, pledged to withdraw from Barack Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which would have bound the US more closely to 11 other Pacific trading nations. 

Separately, Wipo said trademark applications surged 16 per cent worldwide to 5.9m last year, while industrial design applications increased 2.3 per cent globally to 873,000. China led the world in both categories as well. 

Mr Trump recently won a protracted trademark case against a Chinese construction services company that had registered the Trump brand. 

Additional reporting by Wan Li

[email protected]

Via FT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // Party Nominees Refusing To Contest: Major Perception Threat For BJP // HSBC Streamlines Gold Investment for Hong Kong Residents with Tokenized Product // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // Floki & TokenFi eyes MENA // Employer Obligations Tighten: 30-Day Deadline for Emirati Employee Registration with GPSSA // The World’s First & Wettest Party: “S2O Hong Kong Songkran Music Festival” proudly returns Get an immersive water and music experience on 8-9 June during Dragon Boat Festival long weekend at Central Harbourfront Event Space! // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Hong Kong Seen Granting Mainland Investors Access to Crypto via ETFs // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Near Miss at Kolkata Airport: IndiGo Plane Makes Contact with Stationary Air India Express //