Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce global technology competition, China's rise in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) patents has attracted global attention. According to the latest data released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), as of 2024, China will account for nearly 60% of global AI patent applications, far surpassing traditional innovation powerhouses such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea. This "faulty lead" not only reflects China's absolute advantage in the number of patents, but also reflects the systematic efforts at multiple levels such as policy guidance, scientific research investment, industrial application, innovation ecology and talent training. China Exportsemi will try to interpret it from multiple angles.
Ⅰ Policy-driven: The intellectual property protection system continues to improve
The strong escort of policies has laid a solid foundation for the explosive growth of China's AI patents. In recent years, China has been promoting the innovation of AI-related intellectual property systems. The China National Intellectual Property Office (CNIPA) has successively issued supplementary guidelines for artificial intelligence in the Guidelines for Patent Examination (2020 Edition), and in 2024, it will further refine the patent application and examination standards for emerging fields such as generative AI and large models.
In 2024, China will authorize 1.045 million invention patents, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%; The number of trademark registrations approved was 4.781 million, and the number of registered copyrights was 10.631 million. These data reflect the country's emphasis on the protection of innovation achievements, and also encourage entities from all walks of life to accelerate the deployment in the field of AI. Especially in the key field of artificial intelligence, the state has opened a green channel and implemented a rapid pre-examination mechanism, which has greatly shortened the cycle from R&D to patent authorization for AI-related technologies.
In addition, China continues to intensify its crackdown on intellectual property infringement, with more than 500,000 intellectual property cases concluded by courts across the country in 2024 alone, effectively enhancing the confidence and enthusiasm of patent applicants and escorting the AI innovation ecosystem.
Figure 1: Global AI patent filings by country (as of 2024)
Ⅱ Investment in scientific research: continuous growth and stimulation of technological power
Investment in research is the source of innovation. According to the "2024 White Paper on the Development of Chinese Artificial Intelligence Industry" released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the number of Chinese artificial intelligence enterprises has exceeded 4,500, and they are concentrated in core cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou.
Among the listed AI companies, among the 197 companies that have released R&D investment data, 36.35% of the companies have R&D intensity (the proportion of R&D investment in operating income) of 5%-10%, 33.5% of the enterprises above 10%, and the overall average R&D intensity of 9.98%, far exceeding the average level of domestic manufacturing enterprises (about 2%-3%).
This high R&D intensity has directly supported the rapid breakthrough of basic AI technologies (such as deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, knowledge graphs, etc.) and application technologies (such as intelligent driving, intelligent healthcare, AIoT, etc.), and has given rise to a large number of high-quality patent applications.
It is worth noting that in 2024, China's basic research papers in the field of AI will account for 28% of the world's total, ranking first in the world. This "two-wheel drive" pattern of basic theoretical research and engineering application development is an important foundation for the outbreak of patents.
Ⅲ Industrial application: multi-field integration to form a patented "pulling field"
A wide range of industrial applications is a key force to promote the transformation of AI patents into real productivity. In 2024, the scale of China's AI industry is expected to exceed 570 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of more than 15%, covering multiple fields such as healthcare, transportation, finance, manufacturing, agriculture, and education.
In the medical field, applications such as AI-assisted diagnosis systems, medical image recognition, and drug molecule generation have entered the stage of large-scale implementation. For example, Tencent Miying, YITU Medical, Inference Technology and other companies have applied for a large number of related technology patents, helping to improve the efficiency and accuracy of medical diagnosis.
In the field of transportation, intelligent driving platforms such as Baidu Apollo and Huawei ADS have promoted technological breakthroughs in core links such as autonomous driving perception, decision-making, and control, and have become one of the important sources of AI patent growth in China.
As AI empowers thousands of industries, the needs of different industries in areas such as algorithm optimization, system integration, edge computing, and security and privacy continue to generate new technological innovations and patent applications.
Figure 2: 60% of faults are leading! China has become the global AI patent hegemon
Ⅳ Innovation ecology: deep integration of production, education and research, and perfect innovation chain
The continuous improvement of China's AI innovation ecosystem has provided a solid soil for patent creation. As the main force of basic research, universities and research institutes continue to contribute high-level patent achievements.
According to the data disclosed by the State Intellectual Property Office, in 2024, more than 2,700 universities and scientific research institutions across the country will take stock of about 1.349 million existing patents and complete value assessments, of which more than 15,000 patents will be transformed through open licensing. This batch of high-value patents has become the source and support of technology for enterprise research and development.
In addition, the government has introduced policies and measures such as intellectual property pledge financing and tax exemption and exemption, which have effectively alleviated the financing problems of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2024, the amount of intellectual property pledge financing in China will exceed 500 billion yuan, benefiting nearly 20,000 enterprises, greatly unleashing the vitality of innovation and promoting AI technology from "papers" to "patents" and then to "products". ".
Ⅴ Talent advantage: planting fertile soil for innovation
Talent is the most fundamental driving force for AI patent innovation. According to the 2024 Global AI Talent Report, the number of talents in the AI field in China accounts for 38% of the world's total, ranking first in the world. Especially in the fields of computer vision, natural language processing, machine learning engineering, etc., China has formed a complete talent echelon.
Major universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have set up AI colleges and interdisciplinary research institutes to vigorously cultivate interdisciplinary innovative talents. At the same time, technology giants such as Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and SenseTime have also attracted and gathered top AI research forces through self-built research institutes, global recruitment, and overseas locations.
The accumulation of talents has enabled China to form continuous innovation capabilities in the fields of AI basic algorithms, system architecture design, and hardware optimization (such as AI chips), which have been continuously transformed into high-value patent achievements.
Ⅵ Global layout: Actively participate in international standards and competition
In the face of increasingly fierce competition in the global AI field, Chinese enterprises and scientific research institutions are also actively promoting the international layout of patents.
According to WIPO data, the number of international patent applications filed by Chinese enterprises through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) will reach 72,000 in 2024, ranking first in the world for five consecutive years, of which AI-related patent applications account for 18%.
Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, Cambrian and other companies have deepened their global patent footprint in the field of AI, especially in major markets such as the United States, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
At the same time, China actively participates in the formulation of international standards for artificial intelligence, and takes the lead or participates in the drafting of AI standards by international standards organizations such as ISO and IEC, which effectively enhances China's voice in the formulation of global AI rules.
Ⅶ Challenges and prospects: High-quality development has become a new goal
Despite the remarkable achievements, there are still certain challenges in the current development of AI patents in China. In some fields, there are problems of patent homogenization and accumulation of low-quality patents; There is still room for improvement in the conversion rate of patent achievements; Experience in overseas patent protection has yet to be accumulated.
In the future, China needs to further strengthen investment in basic research, enhance its original innovation capabilities, improve its intellectual property protection system, and optimize its patent quality assessment and screening mechanism. At the same time, it is necessary to accelerate the standardization of AI ethics, security, privacy protection, and other fields, and build a more open and inclusive global cooperation ecosystem.
Looking ahead, with continuous breakthroughs in cutting-edge fields such as generative AI, AGI (general artificial intelligence), and smart chips, China is expected to occupy a more central position in the global AI innovation map and contribute more Chinese wisdom to the sustainable development of the global AI industry.
