According to the latest data released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the number of PCT international patent applications in my country has jumped to the third place in the world last year. In 2013, the number of international patent applications submitted by my country through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) reached 21,516, exceeding 20,000 for the first time, a year-on-year increase of 15.6%. Relevant experts said that PCT international patent application has become a yardstick to test my country's independent innovation capability. In recent years, the continuous and rapid growth of my country's PCT international patent applications reflects the improvement of the quality of Chinese enterprises' international operation and the improvement of market-oriented competitiveness.

Statistics show that in 2013, a total of 205,000 international patent applications were filed worldwide through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), a year-on-year increase of 5.1% and a record high. The United States (57,239 pieces), Japan (43,918 pieces), China (21,516 pieces), Germany (17,927 pieces) and South Korea (12,386 pieces) ranked the top five, and my country surpassed Germany for the first time and ranked third; The share of the global total reached 10.5%, an increase of nearly 1 percentage point from 2012. In terms of corporate patent applications, ZTE Corporation ranked second in the global applicant rankings with 2,309 published PCT international patent applications after Japan's Panasonic Corporation (2,881); Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ranked third with 2,094. The ranking has improved by one place from the previous year.

"The main reason for the rapid growth of my country's PCT international patent applications is the international market drive of enterprises and the guidance of government incentive policies." Xu Chunming, deputy dean of the School of Intellectual Property of Shanghai University, said in an interview with reporters that with the internationalization of Chinese enterprises With the continuous improvement of the degree of industrialization, the gradual improvement of the product structure participating in international competition, and the gradual increase in the proportion of high-tech products, the corresponding internal demand for the international layout of patents will inevitably arise. In recent years, my country's continuously adjusted patent funding policy has also stimulated the enthusiasm of enterprises to apply for PCT international patent applications to a certain extent.

"Market-driven is the main force for the rapid growth of my country's PCT international patent applications, and policy guidance is only an auxiliary force. This can be proved from the fact that my country's PCT international patent applications are mainly concentrated in international enterprises represented by ZTE and Huawei. ." In Xu Chunming's view, this shows that the internationalization trend of Chinese patent applications is taking shape. "Enterprise internationalization requires intellectual property rights. ZTE and Huawei have been leading the way in PCT international patent applications for many years, which is exactly what their international development strategy requires, and is a guarantee for them to participate in international competition and enhance their competitiveness."

"The fact that the number of PCT international patent applications in China has grown rapidly is encouraging and gratifying. The ranking of the third in the world basically matches that of China's economic scale and the second in the world, which reflects the achievements of my country's patent industry. However, China's PCT international patent application The gap between applications and developed countries is still obvious." Xu Chunming said that although my country's PCT international patent applications ranked third in the world in 2013, compared with the United States and Japan, there is still a big gap. In 2013, the number of PCT international patent applications in the United States and Japan accounted for 27.9% and 21.4% of the global total, respectively. Among the top 50 corporate applicants, Japan and the United States accounted for 20 and 15 respectively.

"In addition, there are still problems such as structural imbalance and insufficient internal driving force in my country's PCT international patent applications. Except for a few truly international high-tech enterprises, some of my country's PCT international patent applications are generated under the promotion of government encouragement and funding policies. , rather than the conscious and internal behavior of enterprises." Xu Chunming believes that the fundamental reason for this gap is that my country's economic structure is not reasonable enough and its innovation ability is not strong enough. "Export processing and OEM manufacturing do not require innovation or patent protection, let alone PCT international patent applications."

"With independent innovation, there is a foundation for PCT international patent applications. Only when there is an international market can there be requirements for PCT international patent applications. Only with international patent protection can international competitiveness be guaranteed." Xu Chunming said that reducing my country's PCT international patent applications The key to the gap is to adjust the economic structure and enhance innovation capabilities. Based on the objective reality of the weak innovation capability of Chinese enterprises and the lack of awareness of patent protection, the government should do something to play the role of a "visible hand" and strengthen policy guidance and incentives, but it must not simply adopt funding policies. "We must pay attention to the quality of PCT international patent applications. The real purpose is to enhance the international competitiveness of Chinese enterprises and optimize my country's industrial structure through PCT international patent applications." Xu Chunming said.