In January 2018, SIPO published its patent statistics for 2017.
China received 1,382,000 invention patent applications, up 14.2% from 2016, and concluded approximately 740,000 applications. The substantive examination period, measured from the request for examination to grant, remained approximately 22 months. Utility model and design applications numbered 1,688,000 and 629,000, respectively.
The Patent Reexamination Board accepted 34,123 re-examination requests in 2017, up 160%, and 4,565 invalidation requests, up 15%.
The average re-examination period was 9.3 months, 2.6 months shorter than in 2016. The average invalidation period was 5.2 months, an increase of 0.1 month.
SIPO received 51,000 PCT applications in 2017, up 12.5%, including 48,000 from Chinese applicants, also up 12.5%. Forty-four domestic enterprises filed more than 100 PCT applications. Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications and Shenzhen DJI Innovation Technology recorded rapid growth of 142.3% and 46.9%, respectively.
A 2017 survey found that 73.3% of patentees facing infringement had taken enforcement action, 10.5 percentage points higher than in 2016. Damages awards also rose: cases with compensation exceeding RMB 1 million accounted for 10.7%, compared with 1.7% in 2016.
Source: http://www.sipo.gov.cn/twzb/2017ndzygztjsjjygqkxwfbh/