China sees stable intellectual property growth in H1

BEIJING - China on Wednesday reported a stable trend in intellectual property development in the first half of this year.

A total of 339,000 invention patents were authorized in the first six months, the China National Intellectual Property Administration said at a press conference.

By the end of June, the number of valid invention patents from China had reached 3.324 million, while the number on the Chinese mainland stood at 2.454 million, up 23 percent year-on-year.

Also, by the end of June, the number of valid registered trademarks reached 33.548 million, up 22.4 percent year-on-year.

In the first half of this year, 87 geographical indication products were approved by the administration.

A total of 13,800 cases of administrative adjudication on patent infringement disputes were filed nationwide between January and June, during which 107.4 billion yuan ($16.6 billion) was raised through the pledge financing of patents and trademarks.

China has been witnessing a climbing trend in the intellectual property rights review, the administration said. By the end of June, the average review period of invention patents had been shortened to 19.4 months, while the high-value patent review period was shortened to 13.4 months.

More Chinese enterprises have invention patents in China, said the administration. The number of domestic enterprises with valid invention patents reached 270,000 by the end of June, an increase of 24,000 over the previous year.

Among them, 126,000 high-tech enterprises have 1.077 million valid invention patents, accounting for 62.3 percent of all domestic enterprises holding valid invention patents.

More foreign applicants also registered for intellectual property authorization in China.

In the first half of this year, 54,000 invention patents were approved for foreign applicants in China, up by 30 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, foreign applicants registered 90,000 trademarks in China, up by 7.5 percent year-on-year.

The figures show foreign enterprises' confidence in China's business environment, said the administration.