It has been stated that the citizens of a country generally will not respect the intellectual property of others unless they themselves have intellectual property that may be misappropriated. No critical mass has been scientifically identified, that is, no specific number or percentage has been determined that would tip the general consensus from an IP-scoffing country to an IP-respecting country. Nevertheless, if mere numbers provide any guidance in the patent area, the number of patent applications being filed on an annualized basis may provide evidence of a trend.
The trend for US patent applications (including utility, plant and design applications) filed over the last twenty years shows a decided increase in US patent application filings by non-US applicants. In calendar year 1987, there were 127,917 applications filed, in 1997 there were 215,257; in 2002: 334,446; and in 2007, the last year for which USPTO statistics are complete, there were 456,154. Simultaneously, patents granted in the same years were in 1987: 82,917; in 1997: 111,984; in 2002: 167,331; and in 2007: 157,283. Of the granted patents, the following were granted to "foreign," that is, non-US, applicants: 1987: 41,587 (50.1%); 1997: 54,107 (48.4%); 2002: 80,360 (48.0%); and 2007: 89,008 (56.7%). Of these, patents granted to residents of China (including Hong Kong) are in 1997: 81; in 2002: 289; and in 2007: 772.
During a similar period, patent applications and grants by SIPO (State Intellectual Property Office of China) increased almost exponentially. Reported applications filed in the SIPO in 2007 are as follows: total applications filed: 694,153 of which 586,734 (72.3%) were filed by Chinese residents and 107,419 (27.7%) by foreign, non-Chinese residents. In 2002 the same numbers are: total 252,631 of which 205,544 (81.4%) were filed by Chinese residents and 47,087 (18.6%) were filed by foreign, non-Chinese residents. Applications filed for the individual years prior to 2002 are not available, but cumulatively for the period 1996-2002 total numbers of applications filed are 1,100,057, of which 890,125 (80.9%) were filed by Chinese residents and 209,932 (19.14%) by foreign, non-Chinese residents. The trend is less pronounced when only "inventions" that is, utility patent applications, are taken into account, but even when so limited, utility applications for the same period are 2007: 27,232 total, of which 19,695 (72.3%) were by Chinese residents and 7,537 (27.7%) by non-Chinese residents; 2002: 80,232 of which 39,806 (49.6%) were by Chinese residents and 40,426 (50.4%) by non-Chinese residents; for the cumulative period 1996-2002: 330,020 total of which 148,696 (45.1%) were by Chinese residents and 181,324 (54.9%) by non-Chinese residents.
In terms of patents granted to Chinese residents in 2007, there are 301,632 (85.7%) out of a total of 351,782 and to foreign patentees 50,150 (14.3%); a sub-category, inventions (utility patents), 31,945 (47%) were granted to Chinese residents and 36,003 (53.0%) to foreign applicants. In 2002, total patents granted were 132,399 of which Chinese residents received 112,103 (84.7%) and non-Chinese residents received 20,296 (15.3%); the corresponding numbers for inventions are 5,868 (27.3% ) for Chinese residents and 15,606 (72.7%) for non-Chinese residents. No corresponding figures for the individual years prior to 2002 are available, but cumulatively for the period 1985-2001 total numbers of granted patents are 770,932, of which 680,249 (88.2%) were granted to Chinese residents and 90,387 (11.8%) to foreign, non-Chinese residents.
The overall trends show that the total number of applications filed in China is rising almost exponentially. In a single year 2007, as many patent applications were filed, as the number of patents were granted during the 16-year period from 1985 to 2001. The numbers of patents granted to Chinese residents, both in the US and in China, also show a rising trend. Significantly, the percentage of inventions (utility patents) both filed and granted in the SIPO is increasing for Chinese residents. The increased interest in US and Chinese patents is a sign that both in the government and in industrial sectors, patents have become a valued property right. Perhaps with increased interest in such IP ownership, the corresponding rights of third parties are more likely to be recognized, since it is very hard for a party to request that its IP rights be respected when it fails respect the rights of others.
Vol. 53, June 2010