In 2016, SIPO received a total of 3,465,000 applications for the three types of patents, a year-on-year increase of 23.8%. Invention, utility model and design applications numbered 1,339,000 (up 21.5%), 1,476,000 (up 30.9%) and 650,000 (up 14.2%), respectively. Patent examination times remained stable in 2016: 22 months for inventions and three months for utility models and designs.
The 2016 invention patent statistics reveal four features:
1) The number of domestic invention patents in force in China exceeded one million, making China the third country to reach this level, after the United States and Japan.
2) Invention patent activity in China improved in both quantity and quality.
Domestic invention applications accounted for approximately 40% of applications for all three types of patents in 2016. Enterprises accounted for more than 60% of domestic invention patent applications and grants.
3) Gaps remained between China and other countries in patent portfolios in fields such as optics, engines, transport, semiconductors, audiovisual technology and medical technology.
4) Chinese applicants were increasingly seeking patent protection overseas. SIPO received 42,000 PCT applications in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 47.3%. Source: http://www.sipo.gov.cn/twzb/2016ngjzscqjzygztjsjjygqkxwfbh/