(ATF) China saw a steady increase in the number of new inventions and patents in the first half of the year despite the coronavirus slowdown.
More than 683,000 invention patent applications were filed and a total of 217,000 invention patents were authorised in the six months through June, the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) revealed in an online press conference.
Tech giant Huawei accounted for 2,772 approved invention patents last year, ranking first on the Chinese mainland.
By the end of June, the number of valid invention patents held in China had reached two million. The average ownership of invention patents had reached 14.3 patents per 10,000 people.
The number of valid trademarks had reached 27.4 million.
China also saw more enterprises applying for patents in the first half of 2020, said Hu Wenhui, spokesperson for the administration.
About 229,000 Chinese companies applied for patents in the period, an increase of 32,000 compared with the same period last year. They submitted a total of 404,000 invention patent applications, up by 12 percent year on year.
The scale of using geographical indications has gradually expanded. In the January-June period, 322 companies were approved to use geographical indications, a significant increase from 116 approved in the same period last year.
The data of the first six months this year shows that China’s major intellectual property indicators were in line with expectations, and its intellectual property development remains stable amid the coronavirus epidemic, Hu said.
READ MORE: E-commerce transactions surge to 34tn yuan
