German Media: China's Graceful Transformation from "Copycat Nation" to "Patent Power"

According to *Kölnische Stadtanzeiger*, the era when seeing "Made in China" immediately conjured up thoughts of "counterfeit and low-quality products" has largely become a thing of the past. Today, China is rapidly evolving from a "nation of creative imitation" into a "nation of invention and innovation." In 1980, China submitted only 44 international patent applications; by 2022, this number had surged to 1.65 million cases—nearly half of the global total.

"In recent years, the Chinese government has not only expanded protection for intellectual property rights but also established robust legal barriers around them," said Marcel Kouskoutis, a patent law expert at the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI). "Many people may still be unaware that patents are not just tools for protecting inventions—they are also instruments for defining one’s own sphere of influence. Even a relatively weak patent can serve this purpose. The Chinese have demonstrated great cleverness in this regard."

This rapid advancement by China in the field of patents is clearly reflected in the recently released Five-Year Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Among its goals is to increase the number of high-quality inventions per 10,000 people from the current 16 to at least 22 by 2030. For a country with a population of 1.4 billion, this will enable China to continually outpace competitors and simultaneously become the primary beneficiary in fields such as artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and drones: anyone seeking access to Chinese-made technology must pay patent fees.

China has established multiple specialized courts dedicated to handling patent protection matters, and domestic patent infringements are met with strict enforcement. Information from major chambers of commerce shows that more and more companies are succeeding in infringement lawsuits. After all, as the world’s second-largest economy, China aims both to reduce dependence on external technologies and to continue attracting foreign investment and cooperation—legal safeguards being a crucial precondition.

German companies are not indifferent to China’s development trends. Following the significant rise in China’s patent filings in renewable energy, especially solar technology, Germany once saw a corresponding increase in its own patent applications. However, in Germany, public awareness of the value of intellectual property still lags far behind China’s pace of development.

Source: DW

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861188948899851/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author