In 2018, China advanced steadily in the construction of IP powerhouses, both the quality and efficiency of IP review continued to improve, the average examination cycle for trademark registration was shortened to 6 months, the high-value patent examination cycle was reduced by 10%, and the total annual fee reduction for patents was 5.86 billion. yuan.
It’s reported that as of the end of 2018, China's domestic (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) invention patents reached 1.602 million, an increase of 18.1% over the last year, and the number of invention patents per 10,000 population reached 11.5. The number of applications for international registration of Madrid trademarks was 6,594, a year-on-year increase of 37.1%. A total of 2,380 GI products and 4,867 registered GI trademarks were approved. A total of 1,990 new varieties of agricultural plants and 405 new varieties of forestry plants were awarded, an increase of 34% and 153.1% respectively. The number of registrations of works and computer software copyrights reached 2.35 million and 1.1 million, respectively, an increase of 17.48% and 48.22%.
According to the 2018 Global Innovation Index Report released by the WIPO, China ranked 17th in the world and had been the only middle-income economy entering the top 20.
(Source: China Intellectual Property Information Network)