Summary of 2020: Chinese IP System to a New Height

On January 22, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released yearly statistics on patent, trademark, geographic indication (GI) and layout design of integrated circuit in its first quarter press conference of 2021 in Beijing. All major statistics met expectations in 2020, indicating another step upward for the Chinese IP system.

In 2020, China granted 530,000 invention patents. At the year's end, the number of valid invention patents grossed 2.213 million (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). The number of invention patents owned by per 10,000 people stood at 15.8, completing in advance the goals set in the 13th Five-Year Plan. China received 72,000 PCT applications, 67,000 of which were filed by domestic applicants. China granted 2.377 million utility model and 732,000 industrial design patents respectively.

The number of registered trademarks in China was 5.761 million. China contributed 7,553 international trademark filings under the Madrid System. China examined 149,000 trademark dispute cases, up 64.7% and concluded 358,000 trademark review and adjudication cases, up 7.8%.

China received ten applications for GI protection and approved six GI products. In parallel, 1,052 businesses were certified to use a GI symbol and 765 GI trademarks were registered. As of the end of 2020, there were 2,391 GI products under protection and 6,085 registered GI trademarks. The number of businesses which were certified to use a GI symbol stood at 9,479.

IP authorities across the nation handled more than 42,000 administrative disputes over patent infringement. The society's satisfaction over IP protectionscored at 80.05, exceeding 80 points for the first time.

In 2020, there were 12,039 patent and trademark pledge financing cases, grossing 218 billion yuan of loans, up 43.8% and 43.9% respectively.

Source: China IP News