Chinese Patent Applications Abroad Steadily Increase in
the First Half of 2009

According to information from China Intellectual Property News, Chinese invention patent applications abroad continues to grow steadily in the first half of 2009, despite of the global financial crisis. Under the latest statistics of United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO) and Japan Patent office (JPO), from January to June 2009, Chinese applicants filed 2,326 patent applications to USPTO, up 14.3%, 765 application to EPO, up 2.9%; 433 applications to JPO, up 16.1%. The applications received by USPTO, EPO and JPO were affected by the global financial crisis. In the above same period, the growth rates of applications in USPTO, EPO and JPO were respectively reduced to 2%, -8% and -9.5%. Moreover, in the first half of 2009, China received 11,080 applications from the U.S., down 8.9%; 12811 applications from Europe, down 9.6%; 15956 applications from Japan, down 2.3%. In spite of that, the number of the applications from U.S., Europe and Japan to China as mentioned above still respectively is near 5 times, 17 times and 37 times as much as the number of the applications from China to U.S., Europe and Japan in the same period.