Editing Science and technology in China (section)

== Intellectual property ==
{{Main|Intellectual property in China}}China's legal framework for intellectual property (IP) protection is developing rapidly as China becomes a source of innovation, but its IP framework is still less developed than most industrialized nations as of 2023.<ref name=":33">{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Joanna I. |title=Cooperating for the Climate: Learning from International Partnerships in China's Clean Energy Sector |date=2023 |publisher=The [[MIT Press]] |isbn=978-0-262-54482-5 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |doi=10.7551/mitpress/11959.001.0001 |s2cid=167841443}}</ref>{{Rp|page=2}} The general trend of its IP system has been to develop towards increasing similarity with the E.U. and U.S. systems.<ref name=":43">{{Cite book |last=Cheng |first=Wenting |title=China in Global Governance of Intellectual Property: Implications for Global Distributive Justice |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-24369-1 |series=Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies series |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-24370-7 |s2cid=256742457}}</ref>{{Rp|page=267}}

=== Patents ===
In 2011, China became the nation with the greatest number of filed [[patent]] applications.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} Nevertheless, this reflects in part that the government gives companies incentives for filing patent applications whether the patent ends up granted or does not. The percentage of patents applications in China filed by Chinese companies rose from less than 52% in 2006 to nearly 73% in 2010.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} [[World Intellectual Property Organization]] (WIPO) data show that Chinese companies have also become more important regarding patents overseas; Chinese companies are in places two and four, respectively, regarding the number of patent applications filed by individual companies.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} China aims to transform the economy from "[[Made in China]]" to "Designed in China,"{{Editorializing|date=March 2024}} and from contract manufacturing to having [[brand name]] companies with resulting improved profit margins.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-patents-idUSTRE7BK0LQ20111221|title=China tops U.S, Japan to become top patent filer|work=Reuters | date=21 December 2011}}</ref>

According to the recent data from the [[World Intellectual Property Indicators]], China's patent office received 1.54 million patent applications in 2018, representing nearly half of patent applications worldwide—more than double the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|title=World Intellectual Property Indicators: Filings for Patents, Trademarks, Industrial Designs Reach Record Heights in 2018|url=https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2019/article_0012.html|website=www.wipo.int|language=en|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=China's patent applications hit record 1.54 million in 2018 - Chinadaily.com.cn|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201910/16/WS5da6b0a9a310cf3e35570d07.html|last=张洁|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2024}} In 2019, China surpassed the U.S. as the top source of international patent applications filed with WIPO.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024|reason=This makes a claim requiring statistics as evidence.}} China-based applicants filed for 58,990 patent applications; 57,840 applications were filed by American applicants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=China Becomes Top Filer of International Patents in 2019|url=https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2020/article_0005.html|website=www.wipo.int|language=en|access-date=2020-05-10}}</ref>

In addition, although China is catching up fast, it still trails the U.S. and Japan for the number of patents made oversea.{{Editorializing|date=March 2024}} According to the WIPO, the U.S. had 247,609 equivalent patent applications filed abroad in 2021; Japan and China followed with 190,399 and 111,905, respectively.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} China ranked second after [[South Korea]] in the gross domestic product (GDP)-adjusted number of applications, with 8,159 resident patent applications per US$100 billion in GDP. China also had 5,738 applications in this category. When considering patent applications adjusted for population, China held the fourth global position. South Korea led with 3,599 equivalent patent applications per million population, followed by Japan (1,770), Switzerland (1,119), and China (1,010).<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization|url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-941-2022-en-world-intellectual-property-indicators-2022.pdf |title=World Intellectual Property Indicators 2022 |date=2022-11-01 |isbn=978-92-805-3463-4 |language=en}}</ref>