China registered 1.1 million patents in 2015 to become the
first country to file more than a million patent applications in a year. That's
according to a report by the United Nations World Intellectual Property
Organization. The country has topped the world in patent applications for five
years in a row, and more of the intellectual properties are seeing commercial
benefits.
China saw the highest annual growth rate of 18.7 percent in
patent registrations in the world. Over the past five years, China witnessed a
boom in intellectual property development, with the number of patent
applications exceeding four million. More companies have turned their IP soft
power into real money.
Deputy manager of Potevio, Tao Xiongqiang, said, "70 of
our patents were successfully registered, and we've obtained 200 million yuan
worth of loan based on these IPs. This is the largest amount of loan in the
industry based on IP collaterals."
Applications filed by Chinese innovators are mostly related
to high-tech fields, including electrical engineering, computer technology,
semiconductors and measuring instruments.
Deputy of State Intellectual Property Office, Zhang
Zhicheng, said, "China's economy is in transformation towards an
innovative form, more and more companies have realised the importance of
innovation towards their development. "
China in 2016 advanced for the first time into the world's
top 25 most-innovative economies. That's according to the Global Innovation
Index by WIPO. China's patent-intensive industry accounts for one third of
total employment and has contributed 10 per cent of China's gross domestic
product.