What are the reasons for the proliferation of patent applications in China?

The number of invention patent applications in China has maintained a steady growth trend. According to the data released by China National Intellectual Property Administration in 20 15 years, China Intellectual Property Office * * accepted 1 10.2 million invention patent applications in 20 15 years, with a year-on-year increase of 18.7%, ranking first in the world for five consecutive years. Judging from the number of patent applications, it seems that the innovation ability of Chinese enterprises should be the first in the world. However, judging from the quality of patent applications, this is not the case. Whether in the field of consumer goods or high-tech products, there is still a certain gap between the innovation ability and supply ability of Chinese enterprises and their international counterparts. The innovation ability of Chinese enterprises is not proportional to the increase of patent applications.

However, the Blue Book of Rule of Law reveals that a large number of patents applied by enterprises have not really been used to improve product quality. According to the provisions of China's patent law, the protection period of invention patents in China is 20 years, and the protection period of utility model and design patents is 10 year. However, in most cases, the patentee will give up the patent halfway. The 20 14 Annual Report of Effective Patents in China shows that the average service life of domestic invention patents is 3.8 years, utility model patents are 3.5 years and design patents are 3.2 years. However, only 0.02% of the inventions, 1. 1% of the utility model and 0.5% of the design actually reached the longest service life. The above data show that the vast majority of patents applied for in China have not really been put into use.

In addition, the implementation rate of patent licensing can also reflect the actual use of patents. From 20 12 to 20 14, 2,787,707 domestic patents were authorized, and only 56,067 patent authorization contracts were signed, accounting for only 2% of the authorized patents. This data also reflects that most patents have not really been put into use.

Therefore, the patent application of an enterprise and the product supply capacity of an enterprise cannot be directly equated. In fact, under the existing system, the number of patents is still an important indicator to evaluate the scientific and technological innovation ability of the government or enterprises, such as: enterprises need patents to enjoy many preferential welfare policies; Enterprises need patent indicators to reduce taxes and apply for the recognition of high-tech enterprises; Many places and units also need patents for talent introduction and talent evaluation. Obviously, applying for a patent can satisfy various interests. In addition, in many places, in order to strive for advanced patent applications, so-called incentives are given to enterprises applying for patents, which further leads to the proliferation of patent applications.