China has received more than 1.6 million patent applications from home and overseas since 1985, with the annual increase rate exceeding 20 percent, said latest statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).
The number of such applications registered in the first quarter this year was 38 percent more than the same period of last year, according to a source with the office on Friday.
Tian Lipu, deputy director of SIPO, said China only registered several thousand patent applications in 1985 when China's patent law took effect.
Thanks to China's great efforts in protecting intellectual property rights, the number of patent applications has risen by a large margin year after year, Tian noted.
In 2002, China received more than 250,000 applications, 24 percent more than 2001.
SIPO has adopted a series of measures to speed up the handling of patent applications. Last year alone, China handled about 40,000 applications, a jump of 60 percent over the previous year.
China's efforts to protect intellectual property rights have drawn an increasing number of foreign patent applicants. Statistics show that by the end of last year, 116 countries had applied to China for patents.
In 2002, a total of 76 countries and regions set forth patent applications to China.
(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2003)
