By the end of last year, 15 award-winning patented technologies that were successfully commercialized had generated about 42.5 billion yuan ($6.7 billion) in revenues, while five design patents had fueled 1.9 billion yuan in sales.
They are the 20 innovations whose economic benefits made them gold medal winners in the China Patent Awards organized by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The breakthroughs covered diverse areas ranging from agriculture and digital technologies to petrochemicals and medicine. Most of the patent holders are well-known names such as Sany Heavy Industry Co, Huawei and ZTE Corp.
The selection committee for this year's event received nearly 700 entries, the most-ever in its 13-year history, which were recommended by 19 state departments, 46 local IP offices, 39 industry associations and 102 academics.
"The annual event that started in 1989 has become an important tool facilitating the progress of China's intellectual property rights," said Tian Lipu, commissioner of the SIPO.
"It has huge support from the central government, as well as WIPO, and has encouraged a group of innovators and creators due to its extensive social impact. It is a blue-ribbon in the field of invention,"
Francis Gurry, director general of WIPO, said at the awards ceremony that the achievements are a testament to the vitality and diversity of innovation in the Chinese economy. It's "quite extraordinary", he said.
He also noted the world relies on inventors to meet many challenges, whether they are in the areas of health, burgeoning population or agricultural productivity.
"We face great challenges in economies and societies, but through innovation, we will be able to deal with them," he said.
Tian said China has made big improvements in increasing intellectual property awareness, especially since the central government made it a national strategy in 2008.
China's international patent applications rose 56 percent last year over 2009, enabling the country to rank the fourth in the world.
The awards are an important part of China Patent Week held from Nov 9 to 15 across the country. A series of seminars and forums were held during the week.
According to SIPO official Ma Weiye, Patent Week is an intensive showcase of technologies and plays an important role in promoting the patent system and the spread of intellectual property awareness.
This year's Patent Week focused on commercialization and helping companies formulate patent strategies, Ma said.
China Daily
(China Daily 11/16/2011 page17)
