The National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) of China released key statistical indicators for the first half of 2019. The data indicates steady growth in intellectual property creation, reflecting China's rising capability in technological innovation and patent portfolio management.
In the first half of 2019, China received 649,000 invention patent applications and granted a total of 238,000 invention patents, representing a 9.9% increase year-on-year. Out of the total granted patents, domestic patents accounted for 192,000 grants, with corporate service-related inventions making up 95.2% (183,000 patents) of the total, reflecting strong corporate research and development activity.
Enterprise Top Performers
The top three domestic enterprises in terms of granted invention patents in H1 2019 were:
- Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. – 2,314 patents granted.
- Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical Corp) – 1,595 patents granted.
- OPPO Guangdong Mobile Communications Co., Ltd. – 1,312 patents granted.
Regionally, the top three provinces/municipalities in terms of invention patents per 10,000 residents were Beijing (121.8 patents), Shanghai (50.9 patents), and Jiangsu (28.5 patents), showing high concentration of R&D clusters in major metropolitan areas.
International PCT Filings
China also saw solid growth in international PCT patent applications, filing 24,000 cases in H1 2019, a 4.9% increase year-on-year. Out of these, domestic applicants filed 22,000 cases, with Guangdong province leading with 9,807 applications, followed by Beijing and Jiangsu. The average examination period for high-value invention patents was reduced to 20.5 months, showing increased efficiency in patent review cycles.