China Receives More Patent Applications Than the US

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China surpassed the United States in patent applications in 2011 for the first time.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), about 2.14 million patent applications were filed in 2011 worldwide. 526,000 were filed in China - more than twice the patent applications filed in 1995 - followed by the U.S. with 504,000, Japan with 343,000, and South Korea at 179,000. The European Patent Office received 143,000 patent applications.

The organizations that filed the patent applications were predominantly located in Japan (472,000), China (436,000) and the U.S. (432,000).

According to WIPO's World Intellectual Property Indicators 2012 report, almost one million new patents were approved in 2011. Japan's patent office leads the charge with 238,000 patents, ahead of the USPTO with 225,000 and the Chinese patent office (172,000).

WIPO said that there were a total of 7.88 million patents active in 2011

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Wolfgang Gruener
15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • aonor
    Not suprised, as I believe that Steve Jobs once said that if he ordered a new supply at night, Americans would do it in the morning, but in China, they'd start that very second.
    Reply
  • Pennanen
    aonorNot suprised, as I believe that Steve Jobs once said that if he ordered a new supply at night, Americans would do it in the morning, but in China, they'd start that very second.Well duh! Its day in china when theres night in america.
    Reply
  • SAL-e
    President Obama should had read this before he signed one more protection law that extended the term of design patents and other 'benefits' for patent holders. USA is pushing to export draconian IP laws across the world, but as you can see this policy is about to backfire. Just think about it. What will happen when Chinese companies hold more patents then USA companies. Protectionism never works and only leads to war.
    Reply
  • acerace
    'Murica.
    Reply
  • alidan
    someone has to hod a patent on making garbage and styrofoam into building material for bridges (no really, they do that)
    Reply
  • bitmaiden
    China has a lot more people than US. Also, it's not about the quantity of patents, but their utility...
    Reply
  • drwho1
    This is very funny, China just copies every product that has ever been produce or invented by anybody else from anywhere.
    So I guess their patents relate to.... I COPY this first than YOU!

    LOL
    /sarcasm
    Reply
  • Usersname
    drwho1This is very funny, China just copies every product that has ever been produce or invented by anybody else from anywhere. So I guess their patents relate to.... I COPY this first than YOU! LOL/sarcasm China was an innovative empire long before the Americas were discovered. Chinese engineers were used the world over by colonial powers. Theirs is a highly inventive culture.
    Reply
  • in 1960. tha japanese copy everything from the west. but in 1980 they outperform everything they had copy from the west. is funny that most of the stupid people I see online believe that is the disadvantage of the chinese knows nothing more than just a copy cat, who doesn't don't realize that they granted everything you spent billions$ and years to invent just over night. in 1990 china is just another bigger s 3rd country. but in 2012. onlya very few country in earth still have the muscle to wresting them. even more funnier the biggest bullying country so far financially rely on them. the people who create the game will not guarantee they will good at playing it. if you know how to cheat it. cheater never win, but most likely 99.9% will...
    Reply
  • MaxTesla
    More people live in China, therefore it is only logical that there will be more patents
    Reply