China the first developing nation in a century to rival leaders of technology
Andrew Leung says findings show it is closing the technology gap with US, Germany and Japan
According to the "World Intellectual Property Indicators 2012" released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) this month, China tops the world (in 2011, the most recent year for data) for patent applications, with some 526,400 filed, followed by the United States with almost 503,600 and Japan with 342,610.
China also does well in trademark applications, with more than 1.4 million filed out of 4.2 million worldwide, which itself is a record number. Industrial design applications similarly reached a record level, with China accounting for 90 per cent of all growth from 2009 to 2011.
A great deal of caution needs to be exercised in making international comparisons on the basis of aggregate data. In particular, the figures do not reveal the quality of technologies embedded in individual applications.
Nevertheless, China's achievement is significant. As Wipo director general Francis Gurry noted in his foreword, "In the 100 years before 2011, only three patent offices had occupied this position (of top patent filer) - those of Germany, Japan and the US."
As far as China is concerned, the following findings are instructive:
Between 1995 and 2009, China led the US in percentage contribution to worldwide growth in patent applications - 37.2 per cent to America's 28.6 per cent. From 2009 to 2011, China's percentage lead (72.1 per cent) became even more marked compared with the US (16.2 per cent).