Nation's international patent numbers surge

The number of international patent applications from China grew sharply in the first half of this year, showing that Chinese companies have sharpened their edge in global intellectual property competition, according to industry insiders.

Chinese applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office increased 31.7 percent to 3,063 filings from January to June, while Japan's Patent Office received more than 500 applications from China during the same period, up 16.9 percent from a year ago.

The number of applications from China to the European Patent Office surpassed 1,000 over the period, a rise of 32 percent year-on-year, far higher than the 1.3 percent growth in total filings.