The number of invention patents in China continued to show robust growth along with "continuous improvement" in the quality of filings last year, according to a recent report by the State Intellectual Property Office.

Gan Shaoning, deputy commissioner of SIPO, announced at a press conference in Beijing last week that 825,000 invention patent applications were processed last year, an increase of 26.3 percent over 2012, the most in the world for the third consecutive year.

Compared with patents for utility models and designs, invention patents are considered to have the highest quality and value as they have the most stringent requirements and the longest period of validity.

Growth in invention applications outpaced the other two types of patents.

Some 35 percent of the filings with SIPO in 2013 were for invention patents, the first time the proportion surpassed one-third in the past five years, Gan said.

Domestic applicants made 705,000 of the filings last year.

Companies were the backbone of innovation with nearly 55 percent of the granted domestic patents in 2013.

Chinese companies that made the list of the top 10 on the mainland for invention patents last year are mainly in IT, energy and auto production.

While IT giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd retained the top ranking with more than 2,200 inventions, petrochemical colossus Sinopec climbed to second place with some 1,600 patents, followed by other leaders in the two industries - telecom equipment maker ZTE and oil producer CNPC.

Gan said that China "has an edge in invention patent numbers in 21 out of 35 technological categories designed by the World Intellectual Property Organization".

Yet it still lags behind in sectors such as optics, transportation and audio technology, he noted

Foreign owners have twice as many optics invention patents as Chinese rights holders.

The deputy commissioner also noted that there is "a noticeable gap" in innovation capacity among local economies.

Most of the top 10 invention patent powerhouses are in eastern and coastal regions.

Beijing replaced Guangdong province to become the largest source of invention patents granted in 2013, followed by Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Shanghai retained its fifth-place ranking.

The same five took the top places on the list of international patents filed through Patent Cooperation Treaty. About three-fourths of the total PCT filings made in China last year came from those provinces or cities.

SIPO processed more than 22,900 PCT applications for the year, 92 percent of them from domestic applicants.

wangxin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/26/2014 page17)