China’s invention patents and royalty income are on the rise as it steps up IP protection amid trade war with US
- Chinese applications for international patents were up 10.4 per cent to 61,000 last year
- Charges of widespread IP abuses have been a focal point in the ongoing China-US trade war
China granted 453,000 invention patents last year, up almost 5 per cent year on year, as the country vows to step up regulations to protect intellectual property amid charges of widespread IP abuses that have been a focal point in the ongoing US-China trade war.
The total import and export of intellectual property fees from January to November 2019 exceeded US$37 billion, already topping the US$35 billion for all of 2018, according to a statement from China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), as reported by state-run media Science and Technology Daily .
Exports, or the amount foreign companies paid for use of Chinese IP, grew 19.2 per cent, year on year, to US$6 billion, signalling an improvement in the country’s IP quality, according to the CNIPA.
Chinese applications for international patents are also on the rise with 61,000 submissions last year, up 10.4 per cent from 2018.
Apart from new inventions, around 1.6 million utility model patents were issued last year for minor improvements on existing products, while 557,000 design patents were granted for ornamental product designs.
“China will continue to improve the legal system for intellectual property … and step up international cooperation in the protection of IP rights as key tasks in 2020,” according to a statement from the patent office on Monday.