Source:Xinhua
Leading companies shared their experiences of investing in intellectual property (IP) to foster innovative development during the 13th Annual China Intellectual Property (IP) Conference that concluded Saturday in Beijing.
Fan Zhiyong, vice president of China's telecommunications giant Huawei, said the company has over 140,000 granted patents worldwide due to its dedication to research and development.
In 2023, Huawei invested approximately 23.4 percent of its revenue into R&D, which amounts to 164.7 billion yuan (22.9 billion U.S. dollars); and over the past decade, it has accumulated over 1 trillion yuan in R&D spending, Fan said.
Apart from making investments, Fan said Huawei also placed great emphasis on patent quality. One of the company's approaches is to establish panels consisting of retired judges, R&D personnel and IP experts to evaluate the quality of patents before submitting applications.
Similar to Huawei, Beijing NAURA Microelectronics Equipment Co., Ltd., a leading semiconductor equipment maker, has also maintained an R&D intensity of over 20 percent annually. It has accumulated approximately 8,500 patent applications since its establishment in 2004. According to the company's vice president of compliance Song Qiaoli, while this quantity may not be considered substantial for a technology enterprise with a 20-year history, the company's focus has always been on prioritizing quality over quantity.
The battery manufacturer CATL is a leading enterprise that has made substantial investments in power battery innovation. According to the company's chief IP officer Sun Mingyan, CATL recognized the crucial role of IP in ensuring fair compensation for innovators and preventing market degradation caused by low-price competition.
CATL's success is indeed riding the wave of this thriving industry. China has achieved an average annual growth rate of 20.8 percent in solid-state battery patent applications over the past five years, ranking first globally.
IP is also key to the globalization of China's automobile industry, said Zheng Changjiang, general manager of Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. Focusing on intelligent vehicles, the major Chinese carmaker said it will invest 10 billion U.S. dollars in overseas markets by 2030.
Zheng called for enhanced national guidance on overseas IP disputes, especially in emerging industries like intelligent vehicles. The entrepreneur suggested establishing support mechanisms and increasing patent review resources for companies to strengthen IP protection.
China has taken measures to assist domestic enterprises in resolving IP disputes overseas. The China National Intellectual Property Administration, the country's top IP regulator, has intensified efforts on training and expert guidance for Chinese enterprises in safeguarding their IP rights abroad.
Other moves included the release of monitoring reports to help enterprises stay aware of relevant risks, and the establishment of information service platforms to offer enterprises comprehensive guidelines on IP protection in major countries.
