A glance at invention patent grants for foreign countries

Any foreigner, foreign enterprise or foreign organization that does not have fixed residence or business site in China files an application for a patent in China, the application shall be treated under the Patent Law in accordance with any agreement concluded between the country to which the applicant belongs and China, or in accordance with any international treaty to which both countries are member countries, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.

The Patent Law of China says that invention means any new technical solution related to a product, a process or improvement.

Total Invention Patents from Foreign Countries in 2017

1 Japan 255,429

2 United States 155,771

3 Germany 69,505

4 South Korea 52,355

5 France 24,784

6 Switzerland 17,977

7 Netherlands 17,567

8 Sweden 10,951

9 United Kindom 9,904

10 Italy 8,228

There were a total of 671,456 invention patents from foreign countries in 2017

Invention Patents from Foreign Enterprises in 2017

1 Qualcomm Inc 1,255

2 Toyota Motor Corporation 1,203

3 Robert Bosch GmbH 1,201

4 Mitsubishi Electric Corp 1,172

5 Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 1,168

6 Siemens AG 938

7 Intel Corp 928

8 International Business Machines Corporation 918

9 Canon Inc 914

10 GM Global Technology Operations LLC 912

Fields of Invention Patents from Foreign Countries in 2017

Motor, electrical device and electric energy

Computer technology

Optics

Transportation

Digital communication

Invention Patent Grants for Foreign Countries (Regions) or Organizations in recent five years

 Total Invention Patent Grants for Foreign Countries (Regions) or Organizations in 2017: 93,174

1 Japan 31,095

2 United States 23,879

3 Germany 11,245

Total Invention Patent Grants for Foreign Countries (Regions) or Organizations in 2016 : 102,072

1 Japan 34,967

2 United States 25,637

3 Germany 12,593

Total Invention Patent Grants for Foreign Countries (Regions) or Organizations in 2015: 13,324

1 United States 7,236

2 Japan 1,560

3 Europe 1,186

Total Invention Patent Grants for Foreign Countries (Regions) or Organizations in 2014:  10,603

1 United States 5,928

2 Japan 1,243

3 European Patent Office 940

Total Invention Patent Grants for Foreign Countries (Regions) or Organizations in 2013:  8,214

1 United States 4,637

2 Japan 822

3 European Patent Office 794