Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration
In 2020, China’s IP work has seen a new level, mainly in the statistical data as expected.
Patent
In 2020, CNIPA has granted 530,000 invention patents. The number of valid national invention patents has reached 2,213,000 (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). Per 10, 000 people owed 15.8 patents, above the target (12 patents per 10, 000 people) in the 13th Five-Year Plan. In 2020, CNIPA accepted 72,000 PCT applications, among which 67,000 were filed by the domestic applicants.
CNIPA granted 2,377,000 utility model patents, and 732, 000 design patents. Moreover, 48, 000 reexamination applications were closed, with a 28.9% year-on-year growth. 7,000 invalidation cases were closed, with a 34.1% year-on-year growth.
Trademark
In 2020, 5,761,000 trademarks were registered in China. 7,553 Madrid International trademarks were filed by the domestic applicants. The number of applications for trademark opposition has reached 149, 000, with a 64.7% year-on-year growth. 358, 000 multiple trademark cases were reviewed, with a 7.8% year-on-year growth.
Geographical Indications
In 2020, 10 applications for protecting the geographical indications were accepted. 6 geographical indications were approved to be protected. 1, 052 enterprises were approved to use the special geographical indications. 765 geographical indications trademarks were registered. By the end of 2020, the registered geographical indication products totaled up 2, 391. 9, 479 enterprises were approved to use the special trademarks. The registered geographical indication trademarks totaled up 6, 085.
Layout-design of Integrated Circuits
In 2020, the number of the registrations of the layout designs of integrated circuits reached 14, 375, with a 72.8% year-on-year growth, among which 11, 727 registrations have been certificated, with a 77.3% year-on-year growth.
IP Protection and Use
In 2020, over 42, 000 patent infringement disputes were handled. The social contentment score was 80.05 (over 80 for the first time).
In 2020, the number of pledge and financing projects on patent and trademark reached 12, 039, with a 43.8% year-on-year growth. The sums of pledge and financing reached 218 billion yuan, with a 43.9% year-on-year growth.
Four Characteristics of the Data
1. Further improvements on examination
In 2020, the examination quality and efficiency on intellectual property have been improved. The period for examining the high-valued patents has been reduced to 14 months. The average period for examining invention patents has been reduced to 20 months. The average period for registering trademarks has been reduced to 4 months.
2. Structure of Patents Optimized and Quality Improved
By the end of 2020, 281,000 (12.3% of the total amount) invention patents maintained valid for over 10 years, up 1% over last year. 246,000 domestic enterprises owed valid invention patents, up 33, 000 over last year. 105, 000 new high-tech enterprises owed 922, 000 valid invention patents, accounting for 60% of the total amount.
3. Overseas Intellectual Property Layout Developed
In 2020, the number of PCT applications field by the domestic applicant has increased by 17.9% over last year, and the number of Madrid trademark applications filed by the domestic applicants has increased by 16.1%. According to the data, the export value of the intellectual property royalties accounted for 7.47 billion dollars, with a 24.2% year-on-year growth from January to November, 2020. The above achievements have demonstrated the advanced developments on overseas intellectual property layout of the domestic enterprises.
4. Countries along Belt and Road More Confident on Developments in China
In 2020, the countries along Belt and Road further strengthened efforts to intellectual property layout in China. They filed 23, 000 invention patent applications in China, with a 3.9% year-on-year growth, higher than that from other enterprises abroad. The number of applications filed by Singapore applicants increased by 21%, and by North Korea increased by 4.4% over last year.
