Cao Yan may be an ordinary locksmith at Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp (WISCO), the fifth-largest steelmaker in China, but he is one of the best-known inventors in the company for his three patents that have been filed.

He says he is thankful to colleagues in the patent administration department because they gave him prizes for innovations, but more importantly, they rescued two patents from the trash bin to bring his total filings to three.

The enthusiasm from companies like WISCO was a major trend in patent filings in the first half of this year.

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) said on July 19 that it received 268,926 patent applications in the first half, a 7.3 percent year-on-year growth.

Residents showed a stronger interest than foreign applicants by filing for 216,473 patents in the period, growing by 7.7 percent and accounting for 80.5 percent of the total. Applications from foreign organizations and companies grew by 5.6 percent, some 19.5 percent of the total.

The increase in resident applications was mainly driven by enthusiasm from local organizations and awareness about protecting their technologies.

Service applications rose by 20 percent to 101,921, contributing to the overall increase of resident applications, while filings by non-service parties, mainly individuals, fell by 0.5 percent year-on-year to 114,552.

"The increase shows enhanced intellectual property (IP) work at enterprises and research organizations and their heightened awareness of protecting their IPs," says SIPO in an analysis of patent filings and approvals in the first half.

After China last year put forward the plan to build an innovative country, enterprises have been formulating their own IP strategies or systems to maintain their competitiveness both at home and abroad.

WISCO has set an aim to apply for 200 patents this year, after only 125 in the previous two years.

To help meet the goal, a patent administration department was established at the steel giant and a fund of 20 million yuan was set aside to encourage employees to apply for patents.

Stimulated by the policies and supported by patent application professionals, the Wuhan, Hubei Province-based steelmaker filed for 112 patents in the first half, compared to 22 in the same period of 2006.

From the second half of last year, SIPO selected more than 300 companies, universities and research institutes as pilot projects with their own IP strategies.

These organizations have tailored training from patent officials and experts on IP regulations and information about domestic and international patent databases.

"The foundation stone of our IP work should be first to innovate and we are willing to help those organizations interested in and capable of innovation," said Tian Lipu, commissioner of SIPO in an earlier interview.

Companies in Beijing can receive similar assistance in formulating their own strategies, filing patents and protecting their property rights. Those with invention patents or foreign patent approvals can also get financing aid for application or maintenance fees.

Despite the enthusiasm from commercial and public organizations, another trend shown in the first half was slowed growth.

The increase of all patent filings was just 7.3 percent, the first time that only single-digit growth was recorded. The growth rate had been above 20 percent in the previous seven years.

The growth rate of resident filings fell sharply from 45 percent in the first half of 2006 to 7.7 percent from January to June this year.

Among the three types of patents, invention filings grew by 6.9 percent, design applications rose by 16 percent and utility model patents fell by 1.6 percent year-on-year.

"We have entered a transitional period and the increase of patent filings is likely to slow," SIPO says in a statement.

But the number of filings from China has impressed global patent authorities. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the country recorded 56.8 percent year-on-year growth in Patent Cooperation Treaty patents, almost 10 times the global average.

However, the industry has been calling for a shift from quantity to quality.

Karla Norsworthy, vice-president for software standards with IBM, said China could learn lessons from countries like the United States, which is now trying to revise its rules on patent filings and uses to avoid abuses of patents and encourage truly innovative filings.

While growth in patent applications slowed, efficiency at SIPO improved significantly.

In the first six months, SIPO granted 167,750 patents, 40 percent more than in the same period last year. A total of 142,264 resident patents were approved, increasing by 44.5 percent, while the number of non-resident patents was 25,486, a 21.7 percent increase.

SIPO attributed the growth to enhanced examination and approval capability. In 2006 alone, the office added about 500 examiners, bringing the total number to around 1,500.

Patent authorities in many developed countries like the US, Japan and the European Union are troubled by staff shortages and an increase in patent applications. They have been calling for closer international cooperation to avoid repetitive work, because many multinationals file the same patents in different countries for better protection.

(China Daily 08/06/2007 page9)
 

2013-07-17