The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) said nearly 526,500 applications were filed with China’s patent office last year, compared to slightly more than 503,500 with authorities in the US. The recent surge in Chinese filings saw the country overtake Japan two years ago.
According to report from the AP news agency, patent filings in Europe fell on the previous year by nearly 5.5 per cent to a figure of nearly 142,800.

Turning point

The China Post newspaper cited Francis Gury, WIPO’s director-general, as describing the rapid increase of patent applications in China as a ‘historic turning point’.
The newspaper went on to cite the organisation’s annual report as saying: ‘Even though caution is required in directly comparing intellectual property filing figures across countries, these trends nevertheless reflect how the geography of innovation has shifted’.

Sea change

The Post said Mr Gurry told reporters that China was now an intellectual property force that the rest of the developed world would have to reckon with. He said: ‘They are producing more, which would suggest they have a strong interest in the technological production being protected.’
Commenting on the figures, Stuart Meyer, an IP specialist partner at the Silicon Valley office of US west coast law firm Fenwick & West told the National Law Journal the ‘real sea change’ was that Chinese nationals were innovating. The rise in Chinese applications, he suggested, was not just a reflection of westerners wanting protection in that market.