BEIJING: The number of effective patents for artificial intelligence (AI) inventions in China will reach 378,000 by the end of 2023, a year-on-year growth rate of more than 40 percent, the country’s top intellectual property regulator said on Monday.
“China’s growth is 1.4 times higher than the global average,” the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) said at a press conference in Beijing.
The artificial intelligence industry exemplifies the strong innovation vitality of China’s digital economy. Last year, the digital economy’s main industries accounted for 10 percent of GDP.
In 2023, the number of invention patents granted in China’s key sectors of the digital economy reached 406,000, accounting for 45 percent of the total number of invention patents granted in the country. In addition, the average annual growth rate over the past five years has been 21 percent, said Ge shu, a senior CNIPA official, noting that technological innovation is thriving in the digital economy.
He added that by the end of 2023, a total of 155,000 domestic enterprises had obtained patents for inventions related to the digital economy, which is 31,000 more than the previous year.
Foreign businesses are also strengthening their patent portfolios in key sectors of China’s digital economy. According to Ge, a total of 93 countries (regions) had valid patents for inventions in these industries in China as of the end of last year, with the digital product manufacturing sector accounting for 61.8 percent.
