Mainland cracks the big time in US patents

Companies like BOE making "remarkable progress" in high-tech innovation

For the first time the Chinese mainland has become a top five recipient of United States patents - behind the US, Japan, South Korea and Germany - according to a report issued by leading global patent consultancy IFI Claims Patent Services.

The report, released last week, said that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted 320,003 patents in 2017, increasing 5.2 percent from the previous year.

US local companies received 46 percent of those patents. Asian companies received 31 percent and 15 percent went to European companies.

Chinese mainland innovators were granted 11,241 US patents last year. Although the number accounted for only 3.5 percent of the total, it still represented 28 percent year-on-year growth.

"China is growing at an impressive rate," said Larry Cady, a senior analyst with IFI Claims.

News agency Bloomberg reported that the number of US patents received annually by China increased tenfold over the past decade - "another sign that the world's second-largest economy is succeeding in its strategy to transform from Silicon Valley's factory to a powerhouse of research".

US corporate behemoth IBM received more than 9,000 patents last year, making it the largest recipient for the 25th consecutive year.

Chinese IT giant Huawei Technologies ranked No 20 with 1,474 patent grants, the most among Chinese mainland companies. It was listed in the top 50 annual recipients for the fi rst time in 2014.

The IFI Claims report also noted that Beijing-based display and sensing device developer BOE Technology Group was among those making the biggest increase among the top 50 recipients. It ranked No 21 last year with 1,413 granted US patents, jumping 62 percent from 2016 when it ranked No 40.

The company researches and invests in next-generation OLED technology, hoping to supply the next wave of high-definition displays to the likes of Apple Inc.

BOE Vice-President Li Xinguo said Chinese companies were "making remarkable progress in high-tech innovation and international competitiveness".

He said BOE's intellectual property capacity had evolved from a supportive role to a leading one.

Another Chinese mainland company in the top 50 recipient list was Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics, which had 708 grants, increasing from 531 in 2016.

Not all Chinese companies, however, saw an increase. ZTE Corp had a 14 percent drop from 473 granted patents in 2016 to 407 last year.

The IFI Claims research found eight technologies with the biggest patent growth - e-cigarettes, 3-D printing, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, industrial moulding, hybrid vehicles, aerial drones and food.

It said the rapidly developing automotive sector was generating multiple patents in areas such as unmanned vehicle navigation and advanced manufacturing technology. Additionally, the computing, telecommunications and medical sectors continued to be strong.

Jenny Chen, a lawyer with IP law firm Wolf Greenfield in Boston, told Bloomberg that biotech startups, founded by people who had been educated in the US and are doing research for things like antibodies to treat cancer, are also working to get US patents.

"They are aiming at the global market, and getting a patent in the US is a must for their business," Chen said.

"If they don't have US patent protection, they are not going to attract investment for the global market."

(China Daily 01/18/2018 page17)