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