According to CNIPA, as of November in 2023, the share of applications for valid invention patents by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reached 73.5%, up 2.5 percent points from the year before. Among the valid invention patents of China's SMEs in 2024, the proportion of independent research and development was 75.3 percent, an increase of 3.9 percentage points over the previous year. The proportion of R&D funding of over one million yuan reached 16.8%, up 0.6 percentage points over the previous year.

The industrialization of invention patents in China's SMEs continued to improve in 2024, as the industrialization rate of effective invention patents reached 55.1 percent, 3.6 percentage points up from the previous year. In breakdown, the figures of small and micro enterprises were 57.8 percent and 36.7 percent, respectively, which continued to increase for two consecutive years, recording a new high since the 14th Five-Year Plan. In 2024, 84% of China's SMEs took measures to protect their rights after patent infringement, a growth of 1.3 percentage points from the previous year. Nearly 40% of SMEs have full-time or part-time intellectual property management departments.

From People's Daily

December 25th, 2024