n  Patent

1.      Patent Application and Granting

In 2017, the number of patent applications in China was 3,698,000, up by 15.6% compared with the previous year. Patent filings maintained steady growth and the enterprises’ dominant position in IP creation and utilization was further consolidated. The number of valid invention patents divided by every 10,000 population reached 9.8.

1)     Patent Application

Latest statistics showed that the number of invention patent applications filed with SIPO in 2017 for which relevant fees were paid was 1,382,000, up by 14.2% year-on-year. The number of domestic applications for invention patents was 1,246,000, accounting for 90.2% of the total and up by 15.4% year-on-year. The number of application from overseas was 136,000, accounting for 9.8% of the total, representing a 4.2% increase compared with the previous year.

In 2017, there were 1,687,000 utility model applications filed with SIPO, up by 22.7% year-on-year, and there were 629,000 industrial design applications filed with SIPO, up by 2.4% year-on-year.

2)    Patent Granting

In 2017, SIPO granted 420,000 invention patents, up by 3.9% year-on-year, of which 327,000 were granted to domestic applicants, accounting for 77.9% of the total, and 93,000 were granted to foreign applicants, accounting for 22.1% of the total. Among the domestic invention patents granted by SIPO, 304, 000 were service inventions, accounting for 93.0% of the total, 23,000 or 7% were non-service inventions.

In 2017, SIPO granted 973,000 utility models, up by 7.7% year-on-year, and 443,000 industrial designs, representing a decrease of 0.7% year-on-year.

3)    Number of Valid Patents

By the end of 2017, a total of 2,085,000 granted invention patents had remained valid, representing a year-on-year growth of 17.7%. Among the total number of valid patents, 1,414,000 were held by domestic patentees, accounting for 67.8% of the total and representing a year-on-year growth of 22.1%; 671,000 were held by foreign patentees, accounting for 32.2% of the total and representing a year-on-year growth of 9.4%. By the end of 2017, the valid invention patents divided by every 10 thousand Chinese population (excluding the population of the HKSAR, the Macau SAR and Taiwan Province) had reached 9.8 (based on preliminary population statistics in 2017).

2.     Patent Examination

1)     Number of Examined and Concluded Applications

In 2017, the number of examined and concluded patent applications for invention patents, utility models and industrial designs was 2.56 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 11%, of which 744,000 were invention patent applications. SIPO received 18,855 requests for prioritized examination of invention patent applications, showing an increase of 43% year-on-year.

2)    Examination Quality

SIPO deepened the implementation of the Patent Quality Improvement Campaign and established a dual check and dual evaluation system for the quality of patents. The social satisfaction rate for patent examination continued to improve. In 2017, the rating was 83.9, 1.2 higher than that of the previous year, maintaining within the range of “satisfied” for 8 consecutive years.

In 2017，SIPO implemented the Examination Quality Guarantee Manual, continuously improved and further improved the examination quality guarantee system and the examination affairs guidance system. The Office continued to enhance the quality assurance work and promoted the sharing of exemplary cases in examination quality assurance, strengthened communication in the same technical field and ensured consistent application of examination standard.

3)    Pendency Period

Against the background of growing patent applications, the examination pendency periods for the applications for invention patents maintained stability. The average pendency period for the granting of invention patent applications was approximately 22 months.

3.     PCT Applications

In 2017, SIPO received a total of 50,674 PCT applications, representing a year-on-year growth of 12.5%. The accumulated total of PCT applications filed with SIPO since 1994 reached 258,180.

As an International Search Authority, SIPO delivered 44,651 international search reports in 2017, representing a 19.6 year-on-year growth. Since 1994, SIPO had delivered an accumulative total of 228,279 PCT international search reports.

As an International Preliminary Examination Authority, SIPO delivered 330 international preliminary examination reports in 2017. Since 1994, SIPO had delivered an accumulative total of 8,214 PCT international preliminary examination reports.

In 2017, 86,753 international applications entered into national phase in China, up by 4.8% as compared to 2016, of which 85,607 were invention patent applications and 1,146 were utility model applications. Since 1994, SIPO had received an accumulative total of 1,017,935 international applications entering into national phase in China.

4.     Applications for Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits

In 2017, SIPO received 3,228 applications for layout designs of integrated circuits, with 2,670 registrations being published and certificated. Since the promulgation of the Regulations for the Protection of Layout Design of Integrated Circuits on 1 October, 2001, SIPO had received a total of related industrial designs.

Since 1985, the PRB had received an accumulative total of 50,045 patent invalidation requests. By the end of 2017, the accumulative total of concluded patent invalidation cases was 45,853.

1)     Patent Administrative Litigation

In 2017, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, the No.1 Intermediary People’s Court of Beijing and the High People’s Court of Beijing received a total of 1,705 cases of administrative litigation on first instance and appeal, of which 437 were first instance and appeal cases filed against reexamination decisions, and 1,268 were first instance and appeal cases against patent invalidation decisions.

In 2017, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court and the No.1 Intermediary People\s Court of Beijing tried and concluded 760 cases in relation to the decisions of the PRB, of which 178 were filed against reexamination decisions and 582 were filed against patent invalidation decisions.

In 2017, the High People’s Court of Beijing tried and concluded 444 cases in relation to the decisions of the PRB, of which 125 were filed against reexamination decisions and 319 were filed against patent invalidation decisions.

In 2017, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China accepted 64 appeal cases. The Supreme People’s Court determined on 51 cases filed against the decisions of the PRB, of which 2 were brought up for trial by the Supreme Court.

n  Trademark

From SAIC news conference, trademark registrations in 2017 exceed 5 million, reaching 5.748 million, increasing 55.7%. The application and increasement hit a historical high record.

By the end of 2017, China trademark applications accumulatively reached 27.842 million, and registrations accumulatively reached 17.301 million, registrations still in force reached 14.92 million, ranking number 1 in the world for consecutively 17 years. Each 10 thousand market entities registered 1520 effective trademarks, a remarkable increasement compared with the figure of 1074 in 2011.

World influence of China’s trademark and brand increased simultaneously. The World's 500 Most Influential Brands issued by World Brand Lab in 2017 showed that 37 Chinese brands were included in the list, increasing 1.5 times compared with that of 2013. The international level of trademarks and brands accelerated constantly. Last year, Chinese applicants filed 4810 Madrid international applications, increasing 59.6% comparatively, ranking the third in the union.

Trademark protections were enhanced comprehensively. In 2017, AIC and Market Supervision departments focused on well-known trademarks, geographical indications, foreign marks, time-honored brands to strengthen trademark rights protection. About 30 thousands illegal cases investigated by the whole departments, reducing 5.1% compared with previous year. Trademark infringement cases reached 27000, reducing 4.3% compared with the previous year.