China has accepted over one million patent applications in the past 18 months, bringing the total to four million since 1985 when the country's Patent Law took effect, patent authorities announced in Beijing on Tuesday.

Statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) showed that patent applications accepted by SIPO reached one million after 15 years. It took 50 months for the figure to reach two million, and only 27 months for three million.

"It shows that the capability of China to accept patent application has been improved and Chinese people's awareness of patent application has been enhanced," said Wang Xiaohu, a SIPO official.

Of the latest one million patent applications accepted, about 60.8 percent were made by Chinese applicants, the SIPO said.

"Among the first one million patent applications, only 47.8 percent were made by Chinese applicants," Wang said.

Last year, Chinese applications were up 30.8 percent over 2005, 20 percentage points higher than foreign applicants at the same period of time.

"It shows the self-innovation capability of China is increasing. The patent mechanism is playing a positive role in encouraging invention and promoting technical innovation in China," Wang said.