Building the Ladder: Three Decades of Development of the Chinese Patent System

WIPO Journal, Vol. 5, pp. 1-16, 2013

Drake University Law School Research Paper No. 12-30

17 Pages Posted: 10 Oct 2012 Last revised: 3 Dec 2013

See all articles by Peter K. Yu

Peter K. Yu

Texas A&M University School of Law

Date Written: October 8, 2012

Abstract

In the past three decades, China has been very successful in developing its patent system. In 2012, the country is among the top five countries filing patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, behind only the United States, Japan and Germany. Among all the applicants, ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies had the largest and fourth largest number of PCT applications, respectively. With significant backing from the Chinese government and the anticipated involvement of the world's largest public sector, China will likely catch up with the existing intellectual property powers more quickly than many have anticipated.

Written for a special issue on intellectual property history, this article traces the development of the modern Chinese patent system. It begins with a historical overview of the protection China offered to inventions during the dynastic and Republican eras. The article then identifies five different stages of development of the modern Chinese patent system. Going from stage to stage, this article demonstrates how a developing country could strategically build a patent system that is tailored to its own social, economic and technological conditions. The article concludes with five key lessons China's patent reform can provide to other developing countries.

Suggested Citation

Yu, Peter K., Building the Ladder: Three Decades of Development of the Chinese Patent System (October 8, 2012). WIPO Journal, Vol. 5, pp. 1-16, 2013, Drake University Law School Research Paper No. 12-30, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2159011

Peter K. Yu (Contact Author)

Texas A&M University School of Law ( email )

1515 Commerce St.
Fort Worth, TX Tarrant County 76102
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.peteryu.com/

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