Companies need to improve their overseas patent strategies to sharpen competitiveness, said experts at an international forum on overseas patent applications held at the Agricultural Exhibition Center on Nov 10.

More than 200 representatives of local companies and research institutions discussed issues related to the patent cooperation treaty (PCT) at the forum sponsored by the Kangxin Intellectual Property Counsel.

He Yuefeng, head of the initial examination and process management department at SIPO, summarized the latest news about the PCT and Wang Zhengfa, an expert from Kangxin, shared his firm's experience of protecting rights by effectively using the system. Beijing had more than 1,200 PCT applications in 2010, up 83 percent over 2009, ranking second nationwide, according to SIPO.

(Source: China Daily)