Asia Accounts for Highest UN Patent Applications in 2018, Huawei Takes the Lead

The Chinese telecom equipment supplier made a record 5,405 applications, up from 4,024 in 2017

Huawei Technologies takes the lead with Asia accounting for more than half of the international patent applications at the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2018, the UN body said on Tuesday.

The Chinese vendor, which has been under pressure since the US demanded to ban Huawei from taking part in building 5G mobile networks in Germany due to national security concerns, has made 5,405 patent applications to WIPO. This is almost 30% more than its 4,024 in 2017, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said in a conference. The WIPO report represents applications for patents, trademarks, and designs which protect the owners from promoting in overseas markets.

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“Historically, this is quite extraordinary,” director Gurry said. “This is a momentous occasion; this is something that is a very significant result,” Reuters reported.

Speaking on the lead a Chinese brand is taking, Gurry said, “Chinese universities get benefits from a strong emphasis on innovation and the commercialization of basic research, as well as access to the largest national pool of research and development spending.”

China plans to soon introduce a U.S. Bayh-Dole Act equivalent, for those patents which are based on government-sponsored research. This may have influenced the attitude of Chinese universities towards commercializing their research.

The WIPO report represents applications for patents, trademarks, and designs which protect the owners from promoting in overseas markets.

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