The European Patent Office (EPO) received a record number of 20,081 patent applications from in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.5 percent and reaching a historical high, according to the Xinhua News Agency, citing the EPO office's Patent Index 2024 report released recently.

This data not only reflects the steady improvement of China's innovation capabilities but also underscores the significant achievements made by China in intellectual property protection and its important contributions to global intellectual property protection.

According to the report, the EPO received a total of 199,264 patent applications from around the world in 2024, which is roughly the same as in 2023. The top five countries in terms of patent application number are the United States, Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea, with China's applications accounting for over 10 percent of the total.

In terms of corporate rankings, China's Huawei ranked second among all companies submitting patent applications to the EPO in 2024, with a total of 4,322 applications. South Korea's Samsung ranked first, followed by LG from South Korea and Qualcomm from the United States in third and fourth places, respectively.

In addition to Huawei, five other Chinese companies made it into the top 50, namely CATL, ZTE, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Tencent. In addition to Huawei, five other Chinese companies were among the top 50 filers, "showcasing China's robust innovation capabilities and active participation in European patent applications," Xinhua said, citing the EPO's Patent Index 2024 report.

From a technological perspective, the field with the highest number of patent applications received by the EPO in 2024 was computer technology, with a total of 16,815 applications.

The fields of electrical machinery, instruments, and energy saw 16,142 applications, marking an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, the number of applications in the digital communication field was 15,983, representing a year-on-year decline of 6.3 percent.

The impressive performance of Chinese companies on the international patent stage is a strong testament to the achievements of China's intellectual property protection efforts.

In recent years, China has been deeply committed to strengthening its intellectual property capability, actively participating in global intellectual property governance, and firmly maintaining the multilateral system of international intellectual property.

This has contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to create an environment conducive to innovative development, and promoted the global intellectual property governance system towards a more just and reasonable direction.

2024 marked the 30th anniversary of China's accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

In 1994, there were only 98 patent applications submitted by Chinese applicants through the PCT; by 2023, this number had risen to nearly 70,000, making China the world's largest source of PCT international patent applications for five consecutive years.

Over the past 30 years, China has grown into a major intellectual property contributor and an important player in the global innovation landscape.

China's efforts in intellectual property protection are comprehensive and effective. In recent years, China has created a fairer and more transparent business environment for foreign enterprises by improving laws and regulations and enhancing law enforcement and judicial efficiency, reducing the technology transfer costs for foreign companies and increasing their market return expectations, thereby promoting sustained high-quality foreign investment inflows.

In the realm of international IP cooperation, China is also playing an increasingly vital role. China has established stable cooperative relationships with over 80 countries and regions globally, and is currently implementing more than 200 intellectual property cooperation agreements.

The number of partners in China's Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) has risen to 33, covering 84 countries, which strongly supports Chinese companies' overseas intellectual property layout.

Intellectual property cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the China-Central Asia mechanism, China-ASEAN mechanism, BRICS, China-Mongolia-Russia, China-Africa, and China-Latin America is also continuously advancing to new heights.

At the same time, China has been deeply involved in negotiations and consultations at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states' assemblies and various specialized committees, promoting the improvement of international intellectual property rules.

In May 2024, China facilitated the conclusion of the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Traditional Knowledge, ending a 25-year negotiation history and achieving a historic breakthrough.

Intellectual property cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative continues to deepen and solidify.

As early as May 2017, during the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA), on behalf of the Chinese government, signed an intergovernmental agreement with WIPO to strengthen intellectual property cooperation along the Belt and Road, marking the first document signed by the Chinese government with an international organization regarding Belt and Road intellectual property cooperation.

To date, the NIPA has signed intellectual property cooperation agreements with 57 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and is actively promoting exchanges and cooperation with these countries in areas such as intellectual property policy communication, personnel training, degree education, and intellectual property examination, protection, and utilization.

China's efforts and achievements in intellectual property protection have injected strong momentum into the global intellectual property protection cause.

China's experience and practices provide valuable references for other countries, enhancing the global level of intellectual property protection, promoting international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation, and contributing Chinese wisdom and strength in the field of intellectual property to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

As China's innovation capabilities continue to improve and its intellectual property protection system continues to be refined, it is believed that China will play an even more important role in the global intellectual property protection arena.

Source: VOC