At its first press conference of 2019, held in Beijing on January 10, CNIPA published annual statistics covering patents, trademarks, geographical indications and integrated-circuit layout designs. The figures indicated continued growth in China’s intellectual property activity during 2018.
China received 1.542 million invention patent applications. CNIPA received 55,000 PCT applications, up 9.0%, including 52,000 from domestic applicants, up 9.3%. Foreign applicants filed 148,000 invention applications in China, up 9.1%.
Trademark applications totaled 7.371 million. Madrid international trademark applications numbered 6,594, and foreign applicants filed 244,000 trademark applications in China.
Authorities approved 67 geographical indication products, registered 961 geographical indication trademarks and authorized 223 enterprises to use geographical indication product designations.
CNIPA received 4,431 integrated-circuit layout design applications, up 37.3%, and issued 3,815 registration certificates, up 42.9%.
Patent administrative enforcement cases totaled approximately 77,000, up 15.9%, including approximately 35,000 patent disputes, up 22.8%, and 43,000 patent counterfeiting cases, up 10.9%. Authorities handled approximately 31,000 trademark violation cases and investigated the first integrated-circuit layout design infringement dispute.
Sources: http://www.sipo.gov.cn/zscqgz/1135326.htm ; http://www.iprchn.com/cipnews/news_content.aspx?newsId=113250