WIPO report: China elevates to 3rd in patenting

On August 10, the 2007 edition of the Patent Report of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) showed that China moved to the third recipient of patent filings up from the fourth.  This is clearly one indicator of the increasing level of inventiveness and innovation that is occurring in China. 

The largest recipients of patent filings are the patent offices of Japan, the United States of America, China, the Republic of Korea and the European Patent Office (EPO). These five offices represent 77% of all patents filed in 2005, (a 2% increase over 2004), representing 74% of all patents granted.  With an increase of almost 33% over 2004, the patent office of China became the third recipient of patent filings in 2005.

Francis Gurry, WIPO Deputy Director General, commented on the new trend in a press conference for the release of the report.  “Countries in North East Asia will most likely continue to challenge their counterparts elsewhere.  Countries like China and Republic of Korea will continue their rapid developments in innovation, one indicator of which is the number of patent applications filed.”

(by Xiang Li)

世界知识产权组织公布2007年版《专利报告》显示2005年

中国专利申请数量升至全球第三

本报讯　（记者向  利北京报道）8月10日，世界知识产权组织（WIPO）在其官方网站公布的2007年版《专利报告》显示，中国的专利申请数量从上年的全球第四位升至第三位，这反映出中国的发明和创新水平在不断提高。

《专利报告》显示，2005年专利申请量最多的国家及地区依次为日本、美国、中国、韩国和欧洲。这5个国家及地区占了2005年专利申请总量的77%（比2004年增长了2%），以及全年专利授权总量的74%。2005年中国的专利申请量比2004年增长了33%，排名世界第三。

世界知识产权组织副总干事弗朗西斯?加利在为发布这份报告举行的记者会上表示，东北亚地区专利申请量增长迅速，反映了世界创新格局的变化。他说，专利申请量是反映创新水平的重要指标，预计今后中韩等国创新水平将不断提高。