In the first half of 2007, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) received 268,926 patent applications; an increase of 7.3% compared to the 250,703 applications of the same period last year, and granted 167,750 approvals, up by 40.5% on last year’s 119,419. The applications and approvals show four features:
Firstly, applications for the three patent categories maintained a good growth, but at a lower growth rate.  For seven consecutive years, the total applications for the three categories of patents remain at a growth rate of around 20%. However, in the first half of this year, it was only 7.3%. Design patent applications still maintain a high growth rate. Invention patent applications have a lower growth rate, while utility model patent applications show a negative growth.

Secondly, the growth rate for invention patent applications in China is higher than that in foreign countries. With a decreased growth rate for invention patent applications, the application rate of invention patents in China is nearly 3 percent higher than that in the foreign countries. In China, the proportion of patent invention applications compared to total patent applications in the first half of the year is nearly 14 percent higher than that in foreign countries.  

Thirdly, the growth of patent applications in China fully originates from service inventions. Service patent applications are up by 20 percent compared with the same period for last year, and non-service invention applications are down by 1.4 percent. The number of patent applications of enterprises still maintains a strong growth..

Fourthly, the quantity of approved patents in the three categories rose sharply. It is up by 40.5% over the same period last year. It shows that China's ability to process patent examinations and approvals has been gradually strengthened.
The above features indicate that the growth in patent applications handled in China will enter a new period of adjustment: the growth rate of total applications has slowed down, while service invention-creation applications maintain a good growth, IP work in enterprises and scientific research institutes is being reinforced, and the consciousness of independent IP protection has been raised.