China sees surge in foreign trademark applications

China's intellectual property business environment has been further optimized, attracting more foreign innovators registering trademarks in the country, China's top IP regulator said on Thursday.

In the first half of this year, foreigners submitted 94,000 trademark registration applications in China, marking a year-on-year increase of 7.4 percent, according to data released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

Among these applications, those from Germany, Italy and the United States experienced significant growth, all surpassing a 20 percent year-on-year increase, the data showed.

"The figures have indicated that China provides equal IP protection for innovators from home and abroad, creating a favorable business environment for foreign enterprises to invest and operate in the country," Shen Changyu, head of the administration, told a news conference on China's IP achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

As more foreign entities come to China to invest and develop, more domestic enterprises are also going global and enhancing their awareness of IP protection overseas.

Citing the data, Shen noted that from January to June, the number of international patent applications under the PCT system and Hague system design applications submitted by domestic innovators increased by 12.7 percent and 23.2 percent, respectively, compared with the previous year.

In addition, Chinese brands rank second globally with a brand value of $17.6 trillion among the top 5,000 brands worldwide, he revealed, adding that China has established partnerships with over 80 countries and regions in IP cooperation.