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China leads the world in PCT applications
On
March 2, the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) released the data
of the international filings for patents, trademarks and industrial
designs in 2020. China filed 68,720 PCT applications in 2020, up 16.1%,
continuing to lead the world in this field. In 2019, China surpassed the
U.S. in PCT applications for the first time.
"Despite the impact
of COVID-19, the number of Chinese patent application filings through
the PCT system has continued to grow. This attests to the prominent
progress in China's IPR and epitomizes the continuous improvement of
China's innovation capability and public awareness of intellectual
property, indicating China's transformation from a major IPR importer
into a major IPR creator,"said Wang Wenbin, Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson at the regular press conference on March 3.
International
patent applications via WIPO in 2020 continued to grow amid the
COVID-19 pandemic's vast human and economic toll. In 2020, international
PCT applications grew by 4% to reach 275,900, which is the highest
number ever. The top five countries in PCT filings were China (68,720),
the U.S. (59,230), Japan (50,520), the Republic of Korea (20,060) and
Germany (18,643). The top five countries in international trademark
application via WIPO's Madrid System for the international Registration
of Marks were the U.S.(10,005), Germany (7334), China (7075), France
(3716) and the U.K. (3679). Among the top ten origins, China (+16.4%) is
the only country record double-digit growth in 2020. In terms of
international design system, despite a substantial decrease, Germany
remained the largest user of the international design system. Among the
top ten origins, the U.S. (+62.7%), Turkey (+34.7%) and China (+22.7%)
are the only three countries to record growth in 2020.
In
parallel, Chinese companies and universities are excelling in PCT
filings. For the fourth consecutive year, China's Huawei Company was the
top filer in 2020 with 5,464 published PCT applications , followed by
Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea (3,093), Mitsubishi
Electric Corp. of Japan (2,801), LG Electronics Inc. of the Republic of
Korea (2,759) and Qualcomm Inc. of the U.S. (2,173). The top
ten-university list comprises five universities from China, which were
Shenzhen University, Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University, Dalian
University of Technology and South China University of Technology.
Innovation sets pace for the future
With
the advent of IP awareness of the society in general, an increasing
number of companies have recognized the importance of IP and gradually
translate such recognition into more PCT applications to establish
market edge for themselves.
"Quantity of PCT international patent
applications represents the innovative strength of a country as well as
the competitiveness of its companies," said Li Shunde, professor of Law
Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "Having to wade through
the 'ordeal' of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Chinese companies still
fly high on the PCT score card, which indicates nothing but the
innovative strength of the Chinese market players as well as Created in
China led by these companies is gaining momentum."
"Huawei has
been sitting at the top for four consecutive years. BOE and OPPO make
their presence known at No.7 and No.8. The above data reveals that with
the legislations constantly being established, improved and fine-tuned,
innovation and market climate has changed for better, which in turn
spurs the innovation energy of companies." According to Prof. Li, Huawei
and a raft of many other innovators epitomizes technological innovation
in China. Behind the shining PCT numbers is the marked uptick of
innovative strength of these companies and IP protection awareness. When
they are out overseas, they are not shy of using their IPRs in market
competition.
"What Huawei has achieved in no small part can be
attributed to our incessant and unwavering determination in protecting
IPRs and inspires innovation," summarized by a Huawei executive. In a
globalized market, patents are the major stimulus for innovation and
growth. In an effort to bring highly-innovative patents to life, each
year Huawei injects over 10% of its revenues into R & D and has 20
labs in the U.S., Germany, Sweden, Russia and some Chinese locations.
Our innovation machine is constantly running on healthy cycles.
"Patents make Chinese companies dare to venture out," Prof. Li believed
patents do not just dictate companies' products and technology, but
their confidence in the ever-complicated international market.
Accordingly, though it is a heavy financial burden for companies from R
& D to patenting, they shall never go penny-wise in this regard.
As
a high-tech company, BOE never stops its expedition. The company knew
the importance of IP from day one and made its stand in top 10 again
this year. In 2020, BOE filed 9,657 patent applications, 90% of which
were for invention and 38% were PCT ones. To gain an edge in global
competition, BOE has patent portfolio planning for over ten countries
and regions including the U.S., Japan, and the Republic of Korea. Its
patent portfolio planning in ultra-HD display technology enables it to
grow into an industry frontrunner. In the meantime, it has started
planning in OLED application with a focus on flexible display patents.
Its OLED monitors have been applied on wearable, vehicle-mounted, AR/VR
products. BOE has shaped its own comprehensive patent management system
covering strategy, management, capacity building, outsourcing, R &
D, risk management and commercialization.
It is not hard to see
an increasing number of Chinese companies has gained their ground
overseas through specific patent portfolio planning, driving massive
growth of China's PCT applications. "The focus of competition in the
international market is new technology, materials, techniques, products,
all of which requires patent protection to ensure technological and
market edge. As the innovation and market competition player, companies
shall heed PCT applications to improve patent portfolio planning, market
shares and economic benefits," concluded Prof. Li.
Source:China IP News
Editor:IPRdaily-Vapor