China the world's largest applicant for biological breeding patents: report

China is the world's largest applicant for patents involving biological breeding, said a report issued by the Development and Research Center of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on Sept. 28.

According to the report, the number of patent applications involving biological breeding is on the rise globally, and most applicants came from China and the U.S.

It said Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Shandong were among the major municipalities and provinces applying for such patents, while all of the top 10 applicants were universities and research institutions, with Zhejiang University, China Agricultural University and Nanjing Agricultural University ranking in the top three spots.

The report suggested that domestic applicants enhance their awareness of the application process for patent protection abroad, choose clearer paths towards industrialization for approved patents, and accelerate the process of technology transfer.

The report, based on big data analysis, revealed the patent structure, development paths, and risks for key technologies, which included areas such as molecular marker-assisted breeding, biological breeding, and genome editing, said Bai Jianfeng, deputy director of the CNIPA's Development and Research Center.

It also studied the patent portfolios of those transnational breeding corporations with a large influence in the industry to see how their intellectual property rights would impact China's own molecular breeding industry, Bai noted.