Source: China IP News

According to the Evaluation Report on China Intellectual Property Development Status  issued by the Intellectual Property Development and Research Center under the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), China's comprehensive IP development index reached 257.4 in 2018 (100 in 2010), an increase of 17.9% from the previous year. IP utilization in China is now on the fast track, the level of comprehensive development of IP has been improved, China's international rankings have improved significantly, and the work on the entire chain of IP has made significant progress.

According to the Report, in 2018, China's IP utilization index reached 234.8, an increase of 28.5% over 2017, and an increase of 134.8 points on the basis of 100 points in 2010. The utilization scale index in Jiangsu and Guangdong exceeds more than 80 points, while the number of areas below 50 points is further reduced compared with the previous year, indicating that the gap of the IP utilization between regions has been squeezed, and most provinces are concentrated in the medium range. In 2018, the efficiency of IP utilization in all regions of the country has improved across the board with the regions among the top rankings performing even better. The report noted that the significant improvement in IP utilization in China is closely related to various specific measures such as building mechanisms and platforms, and promoting industries in recent years, gradually shifting from single benefits to comprehensive benefits. Therefore, China has seen continuous enhancement in comprehensive IP utilization and rapid growth in the effects of IP utilization.

The data shows that the contribution of China's IP utilization to economic and social development has increased significantly. In 2018, the total amount of patent and trademark pledge financing amounted to 122.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%. According to the China Statistical Yearbook 2018, as of the end of 2017, 367,586 technical contracts were signed nationwide, with a turnover of 1,342.422 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.7% and 17.7%; software business exports were registered at 54.1 billion US dollars, an increase of 8.3%; the total volume of China's IP royalties reached US$33.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32.6%. The number of patent application rights and of patent rights transferred has increased significantly from 2010 to 196,000; the number of trademark transfers has increased from 64,000 to 362,000; the value added of core copyright industry to GDP has increased from 3.52% in 2010 to  4.61% in 2017.

The Report provides an in-depth analysis of the status of China's IP development in the international arena. The data shows that the comprehensive development of China's IP is stable in the upper-middle echelon.

According to the Report, among the 40 countries including members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (OECD), the BRICS and Singapore, in 2017, China surpassed Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, the United Kingdom in terms of the level of IP development, rising from the 13th to the 8th in the world rankings. In the vertical direction, China's ranking in the world has increased by an average of three places per year. Compared with 2016, the score of China's total IP development index has increased from 58.2 to 62.58, further bridging the gap with IP powers. In 2017, the three first-level index capabilities, performance, and environmental indices under the China's IP development status Index rose by one place each year in terms of capacity and performance, and the environmental index rose by five. This shows that the imbalance in development is improving year by year, highlighting the positive results China has achieved in recent years in strengthening the creation, protection and utilization of IP, especially in improving IP utilization and creating a sound business environment.