China to improve patent examination standards in new industries

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to improve patent examination standards in new fields and new forms of industry to facilitate patent grants of green and low-carbon technologies and future industries, the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) said on Tuesday.

Patented technologies have provided support for the accelerated development of green and low-carbon industries represented by electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells, Shen Changyu, head of NIPA, said at a press conference.

China is one of the world's major technology sources in the field of lithium batteries, especially solid-state batteries, Shen said.

As of May this year, the number of global solid-state battery key technology patent applications was 20,798, of which 7,640 were in China, accounting for 36.7 percent, he said.

In the past five years, the average annual growth rate of China's solid-state battery patent applications was 20.8 percent, ranking first in the world, he added.

NIPA will strengthen the cultivation of high-value patents for green and low-carbon technologies and future industries, support the construction and operation of patent pools for those industries, and encourage the exploration of open-source patents, according to Shen.

It will also step up IPR protection in new fields and forms of industry to create a better business environment and innovation environment, Shen said.