According to official statistics, the annual number of patent application at the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) has reached 1 million for the first time. On 18 November, the 1,000,925^th application was filed. The applications can be divided into three types: invention patent applications reached 323,266 (32.3%), utility model patent applications reached 337,658 (33.7%) and design patents reached 340,000 (34%).  　

According to past statistics, annual patent applications at SIPO reached 100,000 in 1996; 200,000 in 2001; 500,000 in 2006, and finally 1,000,000 in 2010. This shows a strong growth, essentially doubling every five years.

"Foreign Invention Patent Deficit"
Despite this strong growth, however, China worries about the so-called "foreign invention patent deficit" problem: The US, European countries and Japan have applied for more invention patents in China compared to the volume that China applied for in these three countries.

According to the statistics of USPTO, EPO and JPO, invention patent applications from China have shown strong growth in the first half of 2010 (January to June). The USPTO received 3,063 invention patent applications from Chinese applicants, a 31.7% growth from the same period the previous year. The EPO received 1,010 invention patent applications from Chinese applicants, a 32% growth from the previous year. The JPO received 506 invention patent applications from Chinese applicants, a 16.9% growth. This compares to the overall growth rate of invention patent applications at the USPTO, EPO and JPO of 4.2%, 1.3% and -3%, respectively, for the same period. This data shows that Chinese businesses are now paying attention to enhancing their international competitiveness in intellectual property.  

On the other hand, official statistical data from China show that SIPO received 12,803 invention patent applications from the US, a 15.6% growth from the same period the previous year; 14,263 invention patent applications from European Countries, a 11.3% growth; and 16,587 invention patent applications from the Japan, a 4% growth. Though these growth rates are not high, the volume of invention patents these countries have applied for in China is 4 times (the US), 14 times (EU) and 33 times (Japan) higher compared to the volume of Chinese applications in these three countries. China’s authorities have stated that they are well aware of the gap, and will encourage Chinese businesses and inventors to improve their knowledge and familiarity with IP in foreign countries to enhance China’s competitiveness in the international market.