China granted 268,000 patent rights in 2006, 80 percent of which
are owned by enterprises registered in China, patent authorities
reported on Monday.
The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) received 573,000
patent applications in 2006, and 47.8 percent of them were granted
national patent rights, an increase of 25.2 percent over the
previous year, said SIPO.
Of the three types of patent rights -- inventions, new
technology and design, patents relating to inventions accounted for
57,786 of the patents granted, an increase of 8.4 percent
year-on-year.
An official with SIPO told Xinhua that since last year
enterprises registered in China filed the most patent
applications.
Patent applications from foreign-invested companies have risen
rapidly in China. Some have even applied for more patents in China
than they have in their own countries, showing their increasing
confidence in China's patent system and protection of intellectual
property rights, according to SIPO.
Most patents were granted to applicants from Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaoning, Tianjin, Hubei
and Sichuan last year.
(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2007)