Industrialized patents of Chinese enterprises continue to rise

BEIJING - The industrialization rate of invention patents among Chinese enterprises has been steadily rising, with medium and small-sized enterprises making a growing contribution, China's top intellectual property regulator said on Wednesday.

According to the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Chinese enterprises in 2024 achieved an industrialization rate of 53.3 percent for effective invention patents, marking a 2 percentage point increase from the previous year.

Notably, medium and small-sized enterprises have outperformed the overall average, with their rates reaching new record highs of 61.4 percent and 57.8 percent since 2021.

The industrialization rate of micro-enterprise invention patents reached 36.7 percent, which also marks a new record over the past four years.

The high-tech sector has been one of the major driving factors pushing growth. In 2024, the industrialization rate of effective invention patents in national high-tech enterprises reached 61.2 percent, marking an increase of 3.6 percentage points from the previous year and surpassing the overall enterprise level by 7.9 percentage points, said Liang Xinxin, a senior CNIPA official, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office.

While the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry boasts the highest rate of invention patents, Liang noted that companies involved in strategic emerging industries and future industries also performed well. The average income from industrializing invention patents in these sectors was 8 percent and 30.3 percent higher, respectively, than that of average enterprises, demonstrating the strong vitality of these sectors.

Data also revealed that enterprises have shown a strong willingness to industrialize green technology. According to Liang, almost half of Chinese enterprise patent holders have already initiated or are considering launching innovations in green technology.

By the end of 2024, Chinese domestic enterprises held over 3.5 million valid invention patents, representing 73.7 percent of the national total, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous year.