In April 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration（CNIPA） published its 2020 Annual Report, containing the following important information related to patents and trademarks. ● Patent 1.497 million invention patent applications were filed in 2020, up 6.9% year-on-year. The applications for utility models were 2.927 million with an annual increase of 29.0%, and the applications for design patents were 770,000, up 8.3% year-on-year.
[Trend chart of the number of patent applications in China]
[Patent grant rates in China]
In 2020, the grant rates of invention patents, utility model patents, and design patents in China were 47.3%, 90.4%, and 95.1% respectively.
Note: Patent grant rate is the number of patent grant announcements divided by the number of patent applications concluded in that year. [Top 10 Chinese companies in the number of invention patents granted in 2020]
[Top ten foreign companies in the number of invention patents granted in 2020]
In 2020, a total of 72,000 PCT applications were accepted, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.6%. Among them, 67,000 were from domestic applicants, with a year-on-year increase of 17.9%.
In 2020, 55,000 patent reexamination requests were received, down 1.2% year-on-year. 48,000 cases were concluded, up 28.9% year-on-year. The average pendency for patent reexamination cases was 14.1 months. Among the concluded reexamination cases for invention patents, 48.3% of the rejections were reversed and 51.7% of the rejections were maintained or concluded in other ways.
In 2020, a total of 6,178 requests for patent invalidation were received, up 2.7% year-on-year. 7,144 cases were concluded, an increase of 34.1% year-on-year. The average pendency for patent invalidation requests was 5.9 months. Among the concluded invalidation cases for invention patents, 25.3% were totally invalidated, 14.9% were partially invalidated, and 59.8% were maintained. Of the concluded invalidation cases for utility model patents, 39.2% were invalidated in their entirety, 18.2% were invalidated partially, and 42.6% were maintained. Of the concluded invalidation cases for design patents, 46.0% were invalidated in their entirety, 1.1% were invalidated partially, and 52.9% were maintained. ● Trademarks In 2020, the number of trademark applications in China was 9.348 million, up 19.3% year-on-year, a record high.
[Statistical chart of China's trademark registration applications from 2016 to 2020]
In 2020, the number of trademark registrations in China was 5.761 million, down 10.1% year-on-year. Among them, 5,577,000 domestic trademark registrations accounted for 96.8%, down 9.7% year-on-year. 184,000 foreign trademark registrations accounted for 3.2%, down 19.3% year-on-year. In 2020, the rate of preliminary approval of Chinese trademark applications was 74.1%.
The average examination cycle for trademark registration application has been shortened from the statutory limit of 9 months to 4 months, close to the fastest international level under the same system globally. The examination cycle for trademark renewal was shortened to 0.5 months, the period for trademark change was shortened to 1 month, and the period for trademark transfer was shortened to 2 months.
In 2020, 367,000 applications for review and adjudication were accepted, representing a year-on-year increase of 1.7%. Among the concluded review cases on rejection, 66.3% were totally rejected, 9.8% were partially rejected, and 23.9% were preliminarily approved. Among the concluded trademark invalidation cases, 58.6% were totally rejected, 12.5% were partially rejected, and 28.9% were maintained valid. Among the concluded review cases on cancellation, 48.3% were totally cancelled, 33.9% were partially cancelled, and 17.8% were maintained valid. Of the concluded review cases on disapproval of trademark registration, 69.7% were completely disapproved, 16.0% were partially disapproved, and 14.3% were approved. ● Patent and trademark applications in China by major foreign countries The number of invention patent applications from foreign countries was 157,093 in 2019 and slightly decreased to 152,342 in 2020.
As can be seen from Table 1 below, in 2020, the invention patent applications from Japan, the US, and Germany decreased slightly compared to 2019. Table 2 shows that the trademark applications by major foreign applicant countries all declined year-on-year in 2020. (Table 1) Patent applications for inventions in China by major countries
(Table 2) Trademark applications in China by major countries
Source: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/col/col2616/index.html