Patent boom: The cost of doing business

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clpstaff &clp articles

China has surpassed the US to be the number one patent filer in the world and its domestic companies are now filing more patents than their foreign rivals. But what effect has this had on foreign businesses and what patent strategy should they adopt to survive in this increasingly crowded market?

In 2011, China filed 526,000 invention patent applications. For the first time, the country surpassed the US and became the world's leading patent filer. Figures for last year have not yet been released, but Tian Lipu, Commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), speaking at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, said patent applications in 2012 had increased by 20%. Tian also noted that in 2001, there were only 40,000 applications.

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