According to the statistics published by the State Intellectual Property Office of China (hereinafter SIPO), a total of 217,105 invention patents were granted to domestic and foreign applicants in 2012, an increase of 26.1 percent as compared with the previous year. Of all the patents for invention, 143,847 were granted to domestic applicants, a rise of 28% as compared to the previous year. With regard to the domestic patents for invention, 125,954 were service applications
The statistics indicated that the top ten provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China in terms of granted patent in 2012 were Guangdong(22,153), Beijing(2,0140), Jiangsu(16,242), Zhejiang(11,571), Shanghai(11,379), Shandong(7,453),Sichuan(4,460), Hubei(4,050), Shaanxi(4,018) and Liaoning(3,973). And the top ten cites were Shenzhen(13,139), followed by Hangzhou(5,531), Nanjing(4,408), Jiangsu(4,382), Guangzhou(4,026), Xi’an(3,475), Wuhan(3,233), Chengdu(3,112), Wuxi(2,513) and Changsha(2,182).
Chinese companies played a more important role in technological innovation in 2012.
Huawei Technologies Co(with 2,734) and ZTE Corp(2,727) were granted the most invention patents in 2012, according to SIPO. A Shenzhen-based subsidiary of the Taiwanese Foxconn ranked third, with 1,099 patents. China's auto makers BYD and Chery were also among the top 10 patent holders.
By the end of 2012, China had 435,151 valid invention patents, representing an average of 3.2 invention patents for every 10,000 Chinese. The government aims to have an average of 3.3 legitimate invention patents per 10,000 people by 2015, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).
Up to 2012, SIPO had granted over a million patents.
