According to the latest data from the State Intellectual Property Office of China(SIPO), in the first half of the year, China received 11,243 patent applications through  the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), representing an increase of 20.5% from the year earlier.10,283 applications are from domestic users, accounting for 91.5%, with an increase of 23.0%. Experts believe that the number of PCT application is closely related to the regional economic development. As the main innovators Chinese enterprises should pay more attention to PCT application portfolio while going overseas.

Data from SIPO shows that there were 10 provinces filing over 100 PCT applications in the first half of the year. Among them, Guangdong, Beijing Jiangsu Shanghai and Zhejiang ranked the top five, which totally accounting for over 80%.

As to the applicant ranking, Huawei, ZTE and BOE Technology Group were the most active ones. In addition to some of the Communication and Electronic Manufacturing Industry giants, in the top ten there are also technical enterprises with the internet background, such as Tencent  fifth and Xiaomi  ninth.

"Looking at the provincial ranking, PCT application is strongly related to the level of regional economic development." Liu Haibo, researcher from Science Policy and Management Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science said."In general, where the innovation ability is stronger, the level of economic development is higher and the number of patent applications is larger. Patent application is naturally closely associated to regional economic development. The correlation appears more obviously in PCT international patent applications. Compared to domestic application, international application requires much more costs and energy input. Without real and effective needs, few companies are willing to file PCT applications."

As to the tendency of PCT application relative concentrated, Liu Haibo said:"In fact, for the real effective patent application, there is always the polarization distribution of most of the application being concentrated in a small number of applicants, no matter it's in countries, regions or corporates." Liu Haibo believed that "the Matthew Effect of PCT application exists not only domestically, but also internationally. For example, South Korea's Samsung Electronics is a PCT  application giant and also a latecomer of intellectual property competitor, whose fast progress is really worth learning from." Liu Haibo reminded that to thrive an enterprise by intellectual property, it starts from a real combat, to establish the fundamental consciousness that patents are the essential tool for modern business competition, and to understand PCT application from a perspective of the weapon is required by the competition. This may be the only way to win the initiative of "going overseas". 

 (Source: China IP News)