China leaves US, Japan behind in patent race

China has ranked first in the number of patent applications lodged surpassing the US and Japan. The number of patents from China rose over 12 percent in 2014. This number is higher than the combined total from the US and Japan.

The Chinese government is giving strategic support to creating patents in telecommunications and solar power segments. The US ranked at second slot and Japan at the third position in terms of number of patent applications.

The Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has made rankings in an in-depth survey comprising numbers, graphs aimed at pinpointing the state of play globally in intellectual property rights (IPRs).

China has made its mark in global platform comprising patents, trademarks, industrial design and plant variety applications.

According to Yahoo News, China stands at the top position in the number of patent applications filed in 2014. China's patents rose 12.5 percent to 928,000 in 2014. China has outnumbered the combined total from the US and Japan in terms of the number of patents. 

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said: "Demand for IP rights continued to grow around the globe in 2014. This underscores the central role that new technology and brand recognition play in determining success in today's marketplace. It also highlights the important task that falls to IP offices in maintaining quality when examining IP applications."

According to a report by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the total number of patent applications were 2.7 million filed in 2014. The number of applications in trademark and plant variety slowed down during the year. The patent applications for industrial design declined for the first time in the past two decades.

China has 578,000 patent applications in 2014, while Japan recorded 325,000 applications. The world's largest and third-largest economies have finished at second and third positions respectively.

Japanese companies led by Panasonic's patent applications accounted for seven of the top 10 applications. Korea's Samsung was at third and the US-based IBM at eight position among the top-ten.

The number of patent applications from the dragon country rose 12.5 percent. The EPO rose 3.2 percent, the Republic of Korea rose 2.8 percent, the US rose 1.3 percent in 2014. Contrary, Japan witnessed a drop of 0.7 percent in the number of patent applications, as per a report by Wral Tech Wire.

While presenting the annual report on 'World Intellectual Property Indicators,' WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry appreciated China's extraordinary numbers. He highlighted the Chinese government's strategic decisions in support of patent applications in telecommunications and solar power.