Showing posts with label IAM Magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IAM Magazine. Show all posts

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Sobering Statistics Put China's Innovation Into Perspective

In the graphical perspective,
things become smaller if the distance
from the observer increases
Professor Anil Gupta and Haiyan Wang, writers of the book 'Getting China and India right', put China's innovation statistics into perspective.

Patent filings in 2008
  • U.S.A. 400,769 filings
  • Japan 502,054 filings
  • China 203,481 filings
Gupta and Wang have a point when they argue that the Chinese inventions patented outside China are a more objective measure than the ones registered by State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).
The most compelling statistic is the number for triadic patents or triadic patent families (patents that origin from one country but that are patented by the European Patent Office, United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Japan Patent Office).

Triadic patent families according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2008
  • Europe 14,525 filings
  • U.S.A. 14,399 filings
  • Japan 13,446 filings
  • China 473 filings
See the Compendium on Patent Statistics for 2008 here (pdf) on page 6. 

However, I would argue that these patent filings are not the best measure. Patent registrations would be a far more better indication of patent quality. 

Professor Gupta and Mr Wang wrote: in 2010 China accounted for
  • 20% of the world's population
  • 9% of the world's GDP
  • 12% of the world's R&D expenditure
  • 1% of the patent filings with or patents granted by any of the leading patent offices outside China. 
  • 50 % of the China-origin patents were granted to subsidiaries of foreign multinationals   
Professor Gupta's and Mr Wang's Wall Street Journal article 'China's Innovation Is A Paper Tiger' can be read here and should not be confused with the title of my thesis 'Paper Tiger Or Roaring Dragon, China's TRIPs Implementations and Enforcement'.

UPDATE August 2, 2011
Joff Wild, editor of Intellectual Asset Management gives an update since 2008. In short: the growth in the number of China's triadic patent filings/grants paints a rosy picture. However China's innovation prospect is much bleaker. On this I concur with Mr Wild. Read more about the relation between innovation and intellectual property and innovation and censorship here.
continue reading ...

Friday, July 31, 2009

New Red Dawn in Patents: More Chinese than Foreign Companies Filed Chinese Invention Patents

Joff Wild of IAM Magazine has another great blog: 'Major breakthrough for Chinese companies in the patenting stakes' , read here.

Mr Wild observes that according to SIPO's statistics the first half of 2009 show that Chinese domestic companies filed more invention patents than foreign companies. In 2007 only 1 percent of all Chinese companies filed any patent. That is 99 percent to go. Mr Wild: "Can you imagine the numbers involved when, say, 10% of them are making use of the patent system?"

Yes, an exciting era has started.

Picture: Alfred Smith
continue reading ...

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Promising News: China and UK Fast-Track Green Patent Applications

Today the UK will start fast-tracking green patent applications, and China will follow suit. IAM Magazine 's Joff Wild has a very interesting blog about it called 'China and UK to fast-track green patent applications, according to British IP Minister'. That could be the best news since the WIPO chose "promoting green innovation" as its theme for this year's World Intellectual Property Day (last April 26th). Read Mr Wild's blog here.  
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Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Center Stage for Background Music: Collective Society Victorious Against Supermarket

Mena Lo and Lilian Shi of Wilkinson & Grist China wrote a short article about a copyright infringement case the Music Copyright Society of China brought against Beijing MerryMart Chain Stores.

The Beijing Haidian District People's Court awarded only 500 Renminbi damages.
Read the IAM Magazine article here.
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008

China's Trademark Office Performs First Trademark Examination Quality Control Inspection

Ms Mena Lo and Elaine Mak of Wilkinson & Grist China wrote a brief for IAM Magazine on the China Trademark Office's first trademark examination quality control inspection, after CTMO's officials exchanged experiences with China's Patent Office and and study case management systems used by IP authorities in the United States and the European Union.

Read their article here.


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