China has accepted over one million patent applications in the
past 18 months, bringing the total to four million since 1985 when
the country's Patent Law took effect, patent authorities announced
on Tuesday.
Statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO)
showed that patent applications accepted by SIPO reached one
million after 15 years. It took 50 months for the figure to reach
two million, and only 27 months for three million.
"It shows that the capability of China to accept patent
application has been improved and Chinese people's awareness of
patent application has been enhanced," said Wang Xiaohu, a SIPO
official.
Of the latest one million patent applications accepted, about
60.8 percent were made by Chinese applicants, the SIPO said.
"Among the first one million patent applications, only 47.8
percent were made by Chinese applicants," Wang said.
Last year, Chinese applications were up 30.8 percent over 2005,
20 percentage points higher than foreign applicants at the same
period of time.
"It shows the self-innovation capability of China is increasing.
The patent mechanism is playing a positive role in encouraging
invention and promoting technical innovation in China," Wang
said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2007)
