On January 15, 2025, the Information Office of the State Council held a news conference where officials from the China National Intellectual Property Office (CNIPA) introduced the intellectual property work development of 2024.
The news conference introduced data on the intellectual property in 2024 from the following six aspects：
Patents
There were 1,045,000 invention patents granted throughout the year, up 13.5% year-on-year. 67,000 patent reexamination and invalidation cases were concluded. The examination cycle of invention patents was reduced to 15.5 months, and the accuracy rate of concluding cases was raised to 95.2%. The accepted PCT international patent applications had reached 75,000. Also, there were 4,868 international applications for designs through the Hague Agreement filed by the Chinese applicants, which is a year-on-year increase of 29.5% and jumped to the first place in the world. It is also reported that, by the end of 2024, the number of domestic invention patents in force in China reached 4.756 million, becoming the first country in the world to exceed 4 million.
Trademarks
There were 4.781 million trademarks registered in 2024, which is an increase of 9.1% year-on-year. The concluded various trademark adjudication cases reached 383,000 and 103,000 for opposition cases. The average examination cycle for trademark registration was stabilized at 4 months, and the average trial cycle of opposition and adjudication cases were further compressed. There were also 7,039 applications for international registrations under the Madrid Agreement were received from Chinese applicants, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.6%. Further, there have been 47.62 million pieces of domestic valid trademark registrations in China by the end of 2024.
Geographical Indications
There were 36 geographical indications products that were recognized and 125 geographical indications were approved to be registered as collective trademarks and certification trademarks during the year. It is also reported that China had cumulatively recognized 2,544 geographical indications products, approved 7,402 registrations of geographical indications as collective trademarks and certification trademarks by the end of 2024.
Integrated circuit layout designs
There were 11,000 integrated circuit layout design certificates issued during the year. Also, there have been 83,000 certificates issued cumulatively by the end of 2024.
Intellectual property protection
It is reported that there was a second batch of 15 national intellectual property protection demonstration zones launched for construction. Six national intellectual property protection centers and seven rapid rights protection centers were newly built, which brings the total number thereof to 124. There were also 33 new sub-centers for guidance on responding to overseas intellectual property disputes, bringing the total number to 80. In addition, the whole system handled 72,000 administrative cases of patent infringement disputes throughout the year and guided intellectual property dispute mediation organizations to accept nearly 140,000 mediation cases.
Intellectual property utilization
It is reported that the number of patent transfer licenses recordals filed for the year reached 613,000, up 29.9% year-on-year. From January to November of 2024, the total import and export of intellectual property royalties reached 356.41 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. It is also worth noting that, in 2023, the value-added of China's patent-intensive industries reached 16.87 trillion yuan which was accounting for 13.04% of GDP.
In addition to publishing the data above, the news conference also made further comments regarding the said new developments during the question session. Taking the geographical indication as an example, it is reported that the developments in the geographical indication protection included, but were not limited to: issuing new documents to improve the geographical indication system (e.g., a national standard on the “Geographical Indication Basic Terms” etc.), strengthening the administrative protection of the geographical indication (e.g., publishing typical cases of the administrative protection of geographical indication, etc.), promoting international cooperation on the geographical indication (e.g.,. signing LOI and memorandum with the IP departments of Serbia, Georgia, Cambodia, etc.), and so on.
Thus, it can be seen that China has made great progress regarding its intellectual property works, which are not only reflected in the increase in the number of applications and registrations for various types of intellectual property rights but also in the quantity thereof, as those progress shown in the utilization. It is reported that China will introduce more targeted reform initiatives to further optimize the business environment in terms of intellectual property in China.
The news conference introduced data on the intellectual property in 2024 from the following six aspects：
Patents
There were 1,045,000 invention patents granted throughout the year, up 13.5% year-on-year. 67,000 patent reexamination and invalidation cases were concluded. The examination cycle of invention patents was reduced to 15.5 months, and the accuracy rate of concluding cases was raised to 95.2%. The accepted PCT international patent applications had reached 75,000. Also, there were 4,868 international applications for designs through the Hague Agreement filed by the Chinese applicants, which is a year-on-year increase of 29.5% and jumped to the first place in the world. It is also reported that, by the end of 2024, the number of domestic invention patents in force in China reached 4.756 million, becoming the first country in the world to exceed 4 million.
Trademarks
There were 4.781 million trademarks registered in 2024, which is an increase of 9.1% year-on-year. The concluded various trademark adjudication cases reached 383,000 and 103,000 for opposition cases. The average examination cycle for trademark registration was stabilized at 4 months, and the average trial cycle of opposition and adjudication cases were further compressed. There were also 7,039 applications for international registrations under the Madrid Agreement were received from Chinese applicants, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.6%. Further, there have been 47.62 million pieces of domestic valid trademark registrations in China by the end of 2024.
Geographical Indications
There were 36 geographical indications products that were recognized and 125 geographical indications were approved to be registered as collective trademarks and certification trademarks during the year. It is also reported that China had cumulatively recognized 2,544 geographical indications products, approved 7,402 registrations of geographical indications as collective trademarks and certification trademarks by the end of 2024.
Integrated circuit layout designs
There were 11,000 integrated circuit layout design certificates issued during the year. Also, there have been 83,000 certificates issued cumulatively by the end of 2024.
Intellectual property protection
It is reported that there was a second batch of 15 national intellectual property protection demonstration zones launched for construction. Six national intellectual property protection centers and seven rapid rights protection centers were newly built, which brings the total number thereof to 124. There were also 33 new sub-centers for guidance on responding to overseas intellectual property disputes, bringing the total number to 80. In addition, the whole system handled 72,000 administrative cases of patent infringement disputes throughout the year and guided intellectual property dispute mediation organizations to accept nearly 140,000 mediation cases.
Intellectual property utilization
It is reported that the number of patent transfer licenses recordals filed for the year reached 613,000, up 29.9% year-on-year. From January to November of 2024, the total import and export of intellectual property royalties reached 356.41 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. It is also worth noting that, in 2023, the value-added of China's patent-intensive industries reached 16.87 trillion yuan which was accounting for 13.04% of GDP.
In addition to publishing the data above, the news conference also made further comments regarding the said new developments during the question session. Taking the geographical indication as an example, it is reported that the developments in the geographical indication protection included, but were not limited to: issuing new documents to improve the geographical indication system (e.g., a national standard on the “Geographical Indication Basic Terms” etc.), strengthening the administrative protection of the geographical indication (e.g., publishing typical cases of the administrative protection of geographical indication, etc.), promoting international cooperation on the geographical indication (e.g.,. signing LOI and memorandum with the IP departments of Serbia, Georgia, Cambodia, etc.), and so on.
Thus, it can be seen that China has made great progress regarding its intellectual property works, which are not only reflected in the increase in the number of applications and registrations for various types of intellectual property rights but also in the quantity thereof, as those progress shown in the utilization. It is reported that China will introduce more targeted reform initiatives to further optimize the business environment in terms of intellectual property in China.