China's Huawei leads patent application in Europe

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, is among the top applicants at the European Patent Office (EPO), ranked 11th, according to official figures announced on Friday.

In 2013, EPO received 266 000 patent filings, 1,077 of which were submitted by Huawei. The company had been granted a total of 7,300 patents in European countries by December 2013, said EPO.

“Huawei is one of the top patent owners in the world,” said Cindy Bian, Patent Counsel for the Intellectual Property Rights Department at Huawei. “We held over 36,500 granted patents by the end of 2013. Our role as a top applicant in Europe highlights our focus on innovation, as well as our commitment to the European business environment.”

As one of the first Chinese enterprises to have signed cross-licensing agreements with Western counterparts, Huawei has been proactively advocating for strong IP protection since its establishment in 1987. The company invests more than 10 percent of its revenue in research and development (R&D) every year and pays about US$300 million in royalties per year to legitimately use patented technologies.

The Regulations on the European Patent, which guarantees supranational protection for inventions in 25 EU member states in a cost-effective way and uniform manner, entered into force on 20 January 2013. It helps companies protect their patents, trademarks and copyrights with a view to strengthening their competitiveness.

As a company whose products and solutions have been deployed in over 140 countries, Huawei has been advocating a unified IPR licensing system at a global level for years. The company calls on enterprises, research institutes, academia and policy makers to collaborate to develop a global platform for innovation.

Meanwhile, it proactively cooperates with other enterprises and is committed to leveraging its global presence and influence to promote innovative cooperation across regions and around the world, ensuring continuous improvements in IP legal systems.

(Li Xiaofei contributed to the story)