According to the official data revealed by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), China handled over 1.1 million patent applications for invention last year, up 18.7 percent year on year.
About 359,000 patents for invention were granted, among which 263,000 patents were granted to domestic applicants, 100,000 more than in 2014, indicating an increase of 61.9%. Of all the patents for invention granted in 2015, 60.5% went to Chinese enterprises.
China's top oil-refiner Sinopec obtained 2,844 patents, the most among all Chinese firms, followed by telecom giants ZTE and Huawei. The tables below show some of the statistics regarding patents/patent applications for invention.
Top 10 Regions of China for Patent Applications
Rank |
Provinces |
Number |
1 |
Jiangsu |
154,608 |
2 |
Guangdong |
103,941 |
3 |
Shandong |
93,475 |
4 |
Beijing |
88,930 |
5 |
Anhui |
68,314 |
6 |
Zhejiang |
67,674 |
7 |
Shanghai |
46,976 |
8 |
Sichuan |
40,437 |
9 |
Chongqing |
35,086 |
10 |
Guangxi |
30,815 |
Top 10 Regions of China for Grants
Rank |
Provinces |
Number |
1 |
Jiangsu |
36,015 |
2 |
Beijing |
35,308 |
3 |
Guangdong |
33,477 |
4 |
Zhejiang |
23,345 |
5 |
Shanghai |
17,601 |
6 |
Shandong |
16,881 |
7 |
Anhui |
11,180 |
8 |
Sichuan |
9,105 |
9 |
Hubei |
7,766 |
10 |
Shanxi |
6,812 |
Top 10 Domestic Patent Applicants
Rank |
Applicants |
Number |
1 |
State Grid Co. |
6,111 |
2 |
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation |
4,372 |
3 |
ZTE Corporation |
3,516 |
4 |
Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Co., ltd |
3,338 |
5 |
Huawei Technology Co., Ltd. |
3,216 |
6 |
Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. |
3,183 |
7 |
Beijing QihooTechnology Co. Ltd. |
2,777 |
8 |
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. |
2,761 |
9 |
Zhuhai Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. |
1,981 |
10 |
Lenovo (Beijing) Limited |
1,826 |
Top 10 Domestic Patentees
Rank |
Patentees |
Number |
1 |
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation |
2,844 |
2 |
ZTE Corporation |
2,673 |
3 |
Huawei TechnologyCo., Ltd. |
2,413 |
4 |
State Grid Co. |
2,081 |
5 |
BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. |
1,115 |
6 |
Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. |
728 |
7 |
PetroChina Company Limited |
641 |
8 |
Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. |
596 |
9 |
Tencent, Inc. |
581 |
10 |
BYD Company Limited |
509 |
Top 10 Foreign Patent Applicants
Rank |
Applicants |
Number |
1 |
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. |
2,742 |
2 |
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. |
2,117 |
3 |
Qualcomm Incorporated |
1,943 |
4 |
Toyota Motor Corporation |
1,921 |
5 |
Robert Bosch GmbH |
1,480 |
6 |
Hyundai Motor Ltd. |
1,441 |
7 |
Intel Corporation |
1,258 |
8 |
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation |
1,210 |
9 |
Canon Inc. |
1,167 |
10 |
KONINKLIKE Philips Electronics N. V. |
1,161 |
Top 10 Foreign Patentees
Rank |
Patentees |
Number |
1 |
Qualcomm Incorporated |
1,350 |
2 |
Canon Inc. |
1,273 |
3 |
Toyota Motor Corporation |
1,240 |
4 |
Panasonic Co., Ltd. |
1,117 |
5 |
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation |
1,095 |
6 |
General Motors Global Technology Operation Co., Ltd. |
1,005 |
7 |
Robert Bosch GmbH |
940 |
8 |
KONINKLIKE Philips Electronics N. V. |
920 |
9 |
Siemens Ltd. |
915 |
10 |
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. |
912 |