20121215_INC644.png (Photo : The Economist)
China is now shifting to a knowledge-based economy from a manufacturing country.
The World Intellectual Property Organization said on Dec. 16, Tuesday, that China was accountable for one-third of the world's patent applications in 2013 that once again drives strong global evolution despite innovations from Europe and Japan.
According to WIPO director general Francis Gurry, "new figures confirm that strategically, the country . . . is on a journey from 'made in China' to 'created in China,' away from manufacturing to more knowledge-intensive industries."
Last year, China is leading the way to patents filling, followed by the United States and Japan. There were about 2.57 million patents filed that amounted to a 9-percent increase from 2012.
U.S. applications grew only 5.3 percent, while China managed to snag a growing 26.4 percent. This is an indicative growth of China's global share from 28 percent to 32.1 percent in a year.
Japan, on the other hand, saw a decline of 4.2 percent, while Europe falls by 0.4 percent that indicates a relatively weak economy.
Gurry added that "global intellectual property filing trends mirror the broader economic picture. The diverging performance of the world economy appears to be leaving its mark on the global innovation landscape."
Per category, 7.6 percent was shared by computer technology, which is still the fastest-growing field in total patents filed. This is followed by electrical machinery, measurement, digital communications and medical technology.
According to WIPO, Switzerland filed mainly pharmaceutical patents, while in Russia, patents were mainly with food chemistry.
From the latest data of WIPO, an agency of the United Nations, transport-related patents were filed by France and Germany. The most popular patent, computer technology, were filed by the United States, South Korea and China.
In totality, the U.S. remains the world leader in terms of patents that are enforced and active today. The U.S. has a share of 26 percent out of the 9.45 million total; Japan and China follow behind.
