China Makes Significant Strides in Driving Innovation Agenda; Will Lead World in 2011 Patent Filings According to Thomson Reuters

Chinese organizations protect 5.6 percent of their patents globally versus 48.8 percent for the U.S.

BEIJING, Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Thomson Reuters announced new findings on Chinese innovation today in its 2011 "Invented in China" report, which analyzes patent filings, industry sector activity and government policies related to innovation. The report, alongside insights delivered at the inaugural Thomson Reuters Knowledge Exchange event in Beijing yesterday, highlights the significant strides China has made in driving its innovation agenda.

Over the last five years, there has been a 62.4 percent increase in Chinese scientific literature annual output, making China second in the world in published scientific papers. China also has seen a 49 percent increase in per paper citations to Chinese scientific literature over the same five-year rolling period. And, China is expected to lead the world in patent application volume by the end of 2011.

However, Chinese organizations are not protecting their inventions by filing patents globally at the same level as other IP-savvy countries, even though this is a core component of meeting the goals of its 12th Five Year Plan.

Currently, only 5.6 percent of China's inventions are protected with global patent filings abroad, far less than the United States or Japan. The United States protects 48.8 percent of its domestic patents abroad and Japan protects 38.7 percent internationally.

"In order for Chinese institutions to drive economic value from their inventions, they need to have a global outlook on innovation," said David Brown, president of the IP Solutions business of Thomson Reuters. "China will be the world leader in published patent applications and has experienced significant growth in scientific literature citations, yet Chinese entities remain domestically focused in protecting their inventions. To gain global competitive advantage and make greater strides toward the government's innovation initiatives, Chinese inventors should look to protect and promote their inventions beyond China's borders."

The National Patent Development Strategy 2011 - 2020 and 12th Five Year Plan are two Chinese government initiatives focused on transforming China into an innovation-oriented economy by 2020, with the goals of accelerating economic growth, promoting social development, increasing the number of invention patents for every 10,000 people, and spending a larger percentage of GDP on R&D.

The "Invented in China" report highlights growing areas of innovation activity in China, including in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. It also shows an increase in Chinese civil IP litigation cases from 2009 – 2010, which in turn demonstrates a growing understanding of the significance IP enforcement plays in protecting and extracting value from innovation.

A full version of the "Invented in China" report is available from Thomson Reuters.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.  We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization.  With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs more than 55,000 people and operates in over 100 countries.  Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.