View
1
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Putting the Experience of Chinese Inventors into ContextRichard Miller, Office of Chief Economist May 19, 2015
Outline• Data and Methods• Growth in PTO Filings
– Focus on foreign co-invention• Patent examination findings• Issue and citation rates
Data and Methods• Data come from internal USPTO data systems
– Used by patent examiners at USPTO to manage the prosecution of applications on their dockets
– Data includes information on the applicants, the subject matter of the inventions, actions taken by examiners, applicant responses, current status, final disposition of the application, etc.
• Forward citations data from TAF
How do we determine country of origin?• We define an application’s country of origin as the
country of residence of the application’s first-named inventor.
• For example, an application is consider to be from China, if the residence of the first-named inventor is listed as mainland China.– We do not include applications from Hong Kong, Macau, or
Taiwan.– Can include cases where foreign nationals living in China are
first-named inventor
GROWTH IN APPLICATION FILINGS AND FOREIGN CO-INVENTION
The Chinese Experience at USPTO
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Num
ber
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Year of filing
Regular Utility Application Filings to PTO from Mainland China, 2000 - 2011
One Inventor Multiple:Chinese Only Multiple:Chinese + Other
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Perc
enta
ge o
f fi
lings
Year of filing
Shares of Filings from Mainland China with Multiple Inventors and at Least One Non-Chinese Inventor, 2000-2011
One Inventor Multiple:Chinese Only Multiple:Chinese + Other
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
5.0%
6.0%
7.0%
8.0%
9.0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Percentage of Applications with at Least One Co-Inventor from Various Countries/Regions, by Year
Other China USA EU Japan/S. Korea Other East Asia Other
Note: “Other China” includes Taiwan, Hong Kong and MacaoNote: “Other East Asia” includes the ASEAN countries and MongoliaNote: EU includes all EU members plus Switzerland
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
18.0%
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Percentage of applications with at least one foreign co-inventor, South Korea and China high-growth periods
S. Korea China
Note: The white bars indicate the results for South Korea for 1997-2006
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
India
United Kingdom
Canada
Germany
China
Taiwan
South Korea
Japan
Perent of applications with at least 1 foreign co-inventor
Percentage of applications with at least one foreign co-inventor, applications received 2012-2014
A LOOK AT THE EXAMINATION OF RECENT FILINGS WITH COMPARISONS TO FILINGS FROM OTHER JURISDICTIONS
The Chinese Experience at USPTO
Comparison Groups• Asian
– Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong/Macau, Other East Asian, India
• European– Germany, United Kingdom, Other EU Countries
• Other Developed – Canada, Australia/New Zealand
Patent Examination TrendsExamination Milestones
Application Docketed with Examiner
Allowed
Rejected
Appeal
File RCE
Abandon
Initial ProcessingFirst Action
On the Merits(FAOM)
Applicant Response
Repeat as Necessary
Examination MilestonesGetting to FAOM
Application Docketed with Examiner
Allowed
Rejected
Appeal
File RCE
Abandon
Initial ProcessingFirst Action
On the Merits(FAOM)
Applicant Response
Repeat as Necessary
560 580 600 620 640 660 680
Germany
United Kingdom
Hong Kong/Macau
Other European Union
South Korea
Taiwan
India
Australia/N Zealand
Canada
China
Japan
Other East Asia
Median pendency from filing to FAOM (days)
Median Pendency from Filing to FAOM, for Applications with FAOMs between 2012 and 2014
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18%
Australia/N Zealand
United Kingdom
Germany
Canada
India
Other European Union
Korea
Other East Asia
Hong Kong/Macau
China
Japan
Taiwan
Allowances as percentage of all FAOM
Percentage of First Actions on the Merits That Are Allowances, 2012-2014
Examination MilestonesDealing with Rejection
Application Docketed with Examiner
Allowed
Rejected
Appeal
File RCE
Abandon
Initial ProcessingFirst Action
On the Merits(FAOM)
Applicant Response
Repeat as Necessary
Applicant Responses• Final rejections aren’t final, but they terminate initial
examination• Applicants must respond within 90 days
– Up to three 30-day extensions of time can be purchased.
• Requests for continued examination (RCEs) can be used to re-open an existing examination without filing a new application
• Applicants can also file appeals with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18%
Taiwan
South Korea
Japan
China
Australia/New Zealand
Hong Kong/Macau
Canada
Other East Asia
Germany
India
Other European Union
United Kingdom
Percent of final rejections appealed
Share of Final Rejections Followed by an Appeal within 6 Months, Final Rejections Issued 2005-12
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Taiwan
China
Hong Kong/Macau
Germany
United Kingdom
Other European Union
Canada
Other East Asia
Australia/New Zealand
India
South Korea
Japan
Percentage of final rejections followed by RCEs
Share of Final Rejections Followed by an RCEwithin 6 Months, Final Rejections Issued 2005-12
Examination MilestonesFinal Disposition
Application Docketed with Examiner
Allowed
Rejected
Appeal
File RCE
Abandon
Initial ProcessingFirst Action
On the Merits(FAOM)
Applicant Response
Repeat as Necessary
750 800 850 900 950 1000 1050
Germany
South Korea
Japan
Other European Union
India
Other East Asia
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia/N Zealand
Taiwan
China
Hong Kong/Macau
Median pendency from filing to abandonment (days)
Median Pendency from Filing to Disposal, All Applications Abandoned between 2012-14
800 850 900 950 1000 1050 1100 1150 1200
United Kingdom
Australia/N Zealand
Germany
Other European Union
India
Canada
South Korea
Hong Kong/Macau
Other East Asia
Japan
China
Taiwan
Median pendency from filing to issue (days)
Median Pendency from Filing to Disposal, All Patents Issuedbetween 2012-14
40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% 75% 80%
Australia/New Zealand
Taiwan
Hong Kong/Macau
United Kingdom
China
Other European Union
Germany
Canada
South Korea
Other East Asia
India
Japan
Allowances as a percentage of total disposals
Comparing Issue Rates by Country of Origin, Applications Disposed Between 2012 and 2014
CITATION RATESEpilogue
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Germany
Taiwan
South Korea
Other European Union
India
China
Japan
Hong Kong/Macau
United Kingdom
Australia/New Zealand
Other East Asia
Canada
Average number of forward citations
Average Number of 3-Year Forward Citations, by Country of Origin, Patents Issued Between 2001 and 2008
Note: Cited by patents issued by USPTO
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Germany
India
Taiwan
South Korea
China
Other European Union
Japan
Hong Kong/Macau
United Kingdom
Australia/New Zealand
Other East Asia
Canada
Average Number of 5-Year Forward Citations, by Country of Origin, Patents Issued Between 2001 and 2008
Note: Cited by patents issued by USPTO
Summary • The number of Chinese applications to USPTO has
grown at a 31-percent annual rate since 2000.– Compared to 6-percent rate for all international applications
• Foreign co-invention rate is comparable to those for applications from other countries
• Relatively short pendency to first action and disposal• First action allowance rate is relatively high• Relatively low use of appeals to USPTO• Relatively low use of RCEs• Average issue and forward citation rates
BACK UPS
Other East Asian Countries
• Singapore• Malaysia• Indonesia• Thailand• Cambodia• Myanmar
• Vietnam• Philippines• Laos• Mongolia• Brunei
Other European Union Countries
• Austria• Belgium• Bulgaria• Croatia• Cyprus• Czech Republic• Denmark• Estonia• Finland• France
• Greece• Hungary• Ireland• Italy• Latvia• Luxembourg• Malta• Netherlands• Poland• Portugal
• Romania• Slovakia• Slovenia• Spain• Sweden• Switzerland
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
RCE
rate
Year of final rejection
RCE rates by year of final rejection, selected countries, 2005-2012
China Japan Canada Germany Taiwan
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
App
eal r
ate
Year of final rejection
Appeal rates by year of final rejection, selected countries, 2005-2012
China United Kingdom Canada Germany Taiwan
Change in Technology Mix, Applications to the PTO from Various Countries, 2000-02 to 2010-12
0%10%20%30%40%50%
Perc
ent
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Technology Area
(a) China
2000-02 2010-12
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%
Perc
ent
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Technology Area
(b) Other BRICS
2000-02 2010-12
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%
Perc
ent
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Technology Area
(c) Japan and South Korea
2000-02 2010-12
0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%
Perc
ent
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Technology area
(d) All Countries
2000-02 2010-12
The Geographic Mix of Applications from China, 2000-12
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Perc
ent
of a
pplic
atio
ns
Guangdong Beijing Shanghai Jiangsu Zhejiang Other
Recommended