New Economy Forum
China Claims More Patents Than Any Country—Most Are Worthless
- Owners stop paying for 91 percent of 5-year-old design patents
- More than half of utility model patents lapse in the same time
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For nearly a decade, China has taken great pride at filing the largest number of domestic patents. It’s proving less keen on keeping them.
Despite huge numbers of filings, most patents are discarded by their fifth year as licensees balk at paying escalating fees. When it comes to design, more than nine out of every ten lapses -- almost the mirror opposite of the U.S.