April 1 this year witnesses the 25th anniversary of implementing the Chinese Patent Law. In the past 25 years, IP system made itself an integral component of China's grand endeavor in reform and opening-up. Successful implementation of IP system rendered tremendous contribution to the development of the Chinese economy and society.

China received merely 14,000 patent applications in 1985, in contrast to 977,000 filed in 2009. As of February 28, 2010, China has received cumulative 5.95 million patent applications and granted 3.17 million patents. After becoming a member state of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 1994, filings by Chinese nationals soared from only 103 in 1994 to 8,000 in 2009, leaping to the fifth position in the world.  By the end of 2009, China has received a total of 33,600 international applications.

From 1985 to 2009 end, local IP administrations nationwide had received a total of 17,894 patent disputes and handled 12,679 cases of counterfeit patents.

(China IP News)