China’s role in international patent activity continues to increase rapidly

BOFIT Viikkokatsaus / BOFIT Weekly Review 2016/12

The latest figures from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) show that the volume of patent applications filed under the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) increased by less than 2 % last year to 218,000. The number of patents filed by Chinese firms increased by 17 %. Chinese entities accounted for 14 % of all PCT patent filings, cementing China’s position as the world’s third-most-active international patent seeker. The United States led with most patents filed last year, accounting for over 25 % of all PCT filings. Japan’s accounted for about a fifth of PCT filings. Most of the growth in the number of PCT patent applications came from China, Japan and Korea, indicating that the global centre of gravity in technological innovation continues to shift to Asia.

As in previous years, Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE ranked number one and number three on the list of top filers of international patents. Second place went to the American electronics giant Qualcomm. The Top 50 list of patent filers included six Chinese firms, which together represented about a third of all Chinese PCT patent filings. China’s innovation activity covers a broad front.

The large number of patent application does not tell the full story, however, as the quality and significance of the innovation of Chinese companies is often lower than that shown in the filings of companies in more advanced countries. Nevertheless, China’s emergence as a technological powerhouse is indisputable. For example, China already accounts for 44 % of all high-tech exports from Asia.

Other BRIC countries lagged far behind China in patent activity. In 2015, India filed just over 1,400 patent applications (about the same as in 2014), Russia about 800 (-16 %) and Brazil about 550 (-6 %). Finnish firms in 2015 filed about 1,600 international patent applications, a drop of 12 % from 2014.

Countries filing the most PCT patent applications
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Source: WIPO

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