According to statistics released November 17, 2020, October 2020 Chinese invention patent applications filing dropped 14.5% versus September 2020.  Similarly, utility model patent applications filings dropped almost 15%.  While a drop was expected due to the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, the drop was much steeper than last year’s drop of 6.3% and 5.8% respectively.  The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) did not provide a reason for the drop. Cumulative filings though are significantly higher than last year, especially for utility model patent applications.

Cumulative filings for invention patents applications through October 2020 was 1,231,706 versus 1,110,183 filings through October 2019.  Cumulative filings for utility model applications through October was 2,393,222 versus 1,793,919 filings through October 2019.  Cumulatively, foreigners filed 11.7% of invention patent applications so far this year and 0.4% of utility model applications, an often overlooked intellectual property right.

Cumulatively through October 2020, there were 412,830 invention patents granted, with foreigners receiving 17.6% of the granted patents.  Cumulatively, there were 1,949,236 utility models granted, with foreigners receiving 0.4% of the grants.

5,966 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications were received in October 2020 for a total of 55,430  PCT applications cumulatively for the year. Extrapolating for the year, there may be over 66,000 PCT applications, exceeding the 13th five-year plan goal of 60,000 PCT applications by 2020.

Additional detailed data is available here (Chinese only).