China National Intellectual Property Administration （CNIPA） held the third quarter （2020） press conference in Beijing on July 9, releasing statistics concerning patents, trademarks, geographical indications （GI） and layout designs of integrated circuits in the first half. In general, main IP figures meets expectations, indicating IP developments still in the smooth groove. It is worth noting that Chinese users continually expand their oversea IP portfolios with a rapid growth in both PCT applications and Madrid trademark applications.
The number of PCT applications filed by domestic applicants increased by 20.7%, and Madrid trademark applications by 36%. In the first half of this year, the applications for patents of the three kinds logged at 2.195 million. China received 29,500 PCT applications, up 22.6% in the same time span. Guangdong （10,900）， Beijing （3,800） and Jiangsu （3,300） paced all provinces in this category, according to Hu Wenhui, spokesperson and director general of CNIPA's General Affairs Office.
"The number of trademark applications filed here is 4.284 million applications, number of registrations 2.629 million. As of the end of June 2020, China housed 27.414 million valid registered trademarks. In parallel, 3,875 applications for international trademark registration under the Madrid System were filed by domestic users, up 36%. China now owns 41,000 Madrid trademarks," according to Hu.
In terms of layout design of integrated circuits, CNIPA received 5,176 applications for registration, up 78.2% and dished out 5,262 certificates, up 111.6%. In addition, there were 364 GIs （trademarks） approved, and 322 companies were certified to use a GI on their products. As of the end of June 2020, CNIPA has approved cumulatively 2,385 GI products, 8,811 companies to use a GI on their products, and 5,682 GIs.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been posing grave challenges to IP international cooperation. CNIPA, however, did not abruptly suspend relevant programs, instead, has been employing innovative ways to keep them running. In addition, China has been keeping a close eye on pandemic policies of other countries and regions, gathering according measures taken by IP authorities of the U.S., Japan, Europe and other BRICS countries and informing interested domestic users for reference.（by Feng Fei）
（Editor Jiang Shuo）
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