The latest data of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) show that the number of PCT applications of China in 2013 rose to the third in the world. In 2013, a total number of 21,516 international patent applications were filed by Chinese applicants under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the first time exceeding 20,000, with a year-on-year growth of 15.6%.
Xu Chunming, Deputy Dean of the Intellectual Property School at Shanghai University, described PCT filings as an indicator of a country's independent innovation capacity. He attributed China's rapid growth to international market demand and government incentives. He considered third place broadly consistent with China's position as the world's second-largest economy, reflecting improved innovation capacity and the growing number of Chinese enterprises entering international markets.
Although the number of PCT applications of China in 2013 rose to the third in the world, compared with U.S. and Japan, there is a large gap. In 2013, the numbers of PCT applications of U.S. and Japan respectively accounted for 27.9% and 21.4% of the total number of PCT applications all over the world. In the top 50 companies with the most applications filed under the PCT, U.S. and Japan respectively accounted for 20 and 15 of them.
Source:http://www.sipo.gov.cn/yw/2014/201403/t20140319_919284.html
