China's vigorous approach to IP paying off

Figures released by China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) show that the nation has achieved strong performance in its patent-filing rate over the past year, combined with a remarkable drop in trademark pendency. The improvements follow a 2008 state-driven push to intensify China's efforts in IP registration and enforcement. China's trading partners will welcome the figures as signs of progress from a country that has borne the brunt of criticism aimed at the IP regimes of developing economies.

Released this week, the statistics show that SIPO received almost 977,000 new patent applications last year, which was up by 17.9% on 2008. The lion's share of these applications (877,611) was filed domestically - almost 90% of the total, and up over 22% on the previous year. While the remaining overseas filings were down by just over 10% on 2008, the robust domestic showing indicates an emerging culture of IP awareness.

By class, the patent applications broke down into 229,096 inventions (up 17.7% year on year); 308,861 utility models (up 37.9%); 339,654 designs (up 13.7%). Final patent grants from SIPO climbed by over 41% to 581,992, with domestic grants coming in at just under 502,000. Foreign patent grants rose 14% on 2008, while domestic ones leapt by over 42%.

SIPO patent experts put the figures down to 'steady and relatively fast growth' in patent applications; a more efficient, or 'optimised', administrative structure for domestic filings and grants; and an increase in examination capacity, which gave SIPO the necessary man-hours to ensure that the volume of patent grants was 'palpably enhanced'.

However, improvements in the patents field were trumped by the performance of China's Trademark Office, based at the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). According to SAIC figures, the office examined 1.3 million trademark applications in 2009 - up almost 110% on 2008 – and resolved 22,700 trademark disputes: a year-on-year rise of 128%. In the course of this, the Trademark Office cut pendency from 13 years to just three.

The roots of this success lie in a concerted effort by the Chinese government to step up the country's IP efficiency, beginning in June 2008 with the promulgation of the Outline of National Intellectual Property Strategy. Once that basic plan was tabled, it quickly led to an additional Outline to Vigorously Promote Implementation of the Trademark Strategy, which made brands a top priority. In October and November of that year, delegates from the Trademark Office and Trademark Review & Adjudication Board (TRAB) visited regional cities to research ways of improving the practicalities and awareness of registration.

That work was highlighted in a November 2008 address by President Hu Jintao to the Central Political Bureau, in which he spoke of China's need to 'stick to the road of independent innovation with Chinese characteristics', in order to meet the challenge of 'revitalising the country through science and education … and the strategy of intellectual property'.

Brigitta Best, director and head of trademarks at leading IP and legal services company CPA Global, told IP Review Online that her department had boosted its resources for watching Chinese trademarks. 'The Chinese authorities have recently published an exceptional, one-off edition of their statutory trademarks journal in an attempt to clear a larger portion of their backlog,' she said. 'This one-off edition has 30,000 pages as opposed to the normal 5,000, with a firm opposition deadline of 26 March. Because of this fixed date, there are likely to be less oppositions in the short-term - and, with SIPO having to deal with fewer oppositions, it should help make way for a faster, more streamlined registration process.'

Best added: 'China should be applauded for addressing this issue so vigorously. They are making great progress, although there is still more to do. The trademark profession is hopeful that, with China's strong focus in this area, registrations that currently take two years and oppositions that take three years will be reduced in the near future.'

By comparison, registration for a European Community Trade Mark [CTM] takes just three to five months. Interestingly, China's announcement of its IP figures also coincided with positive news on the CTM. According to the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM), CTM applications in 2009 exceeded the previous year's 88,000 total by 200 - a strong recovery in light of a 12% fall in demand recorded for the first quarter.

In OHIM president Wubbo de Boer's view, 'Business goes on, and new products arrive on the market constantly. It seems that our customers continue to view community trademarks and designs as a cost-effective means of getting IP protection in the EU.'