A research capability analyse report released in Beijing Friday
said China lags far behind developed countries, such as the United
States and Japan in overseas patent applications.
The Chinese
Academy of Sciences (CAS) recently sponsored the appraisal on
world science development trends and China's influence in
scientific research and technological development.
Tian Xiaoyang, a senior research librarian, said in an interview
with Xinhua that Japan and the United States led others in overseas
patent applications and are still keeping good momentum.
While China has increased its applications for overseas patents,
the rate of increase was only ten percent of that of Japan and 25
percent that of the US, Tian said.
In a list of patent applications made by World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
members, China applied for 3,935 PCT patents from 1998 to 2002 and
was ranked the 16th. The United States ranked first with 180,602
applications over the same period.
From 1992 to 2001, China applied for 855 patents from the US
Patent and Trademark Office. From 1991 to 2000, China applied for
946 patents from the European Patent Organization, ranked the
24th.
Patent information indicates the research and development
capability of a nation, Tian said.
From 1993 to 2002, according to the report, the hot areas of
patent application included electronics, information technology,
computing technology, bio-technology, organic chemistry, medical
technology, transportation technology and new materials.
Most of the world's top 15 research powers were those holding
the most technological patents, Tian said. China's share in world
patents is much smaller than its research papers.
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(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2005)