An analysis for Chinese patent competitiveness, through the USPTO database in 2008

This article evaluates the competitiveness of China, during the period between 2004 and 2008, through patent performances of six technology fields, including the fields of Chemistry, Computer and Communication, Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Electrical and Electronic Machinery, Mechanical, and Other. For the purpose of observing the patent trends and the major companies in above six fields, various indicators are employed to evaluate patent quality, including the Patent Count, the Current Impact Index, the Patent Share, the Patent Activity, and also two novel indicators, the Essential Patent Index and the Essential Technological Strength. According to the share of patents, major enterprises of China in 2008 have been chosen for investigations. From these enterprises, essential assignees in each technology field are identified and analyzed to evaluate the performances. The findings reveal that the amount of patents from China issued by the United States has been increasing year by year. In addition, the avant-garde capacities of Electrical and Electronic Machinery and Computer and Communication are higher than that of other fields. Finally, it can be concluded that China has been upgrading its patent competitiveness step by step in recent years. Furthermore, Chinese local companies have been becoming the primary innovational strength of China.