Comparison between Domestic and Foreign
                Chemical Patent Applications
                         Gan Tao
It is reported that the  comparison  between  domestic  and
foreign chemical patent applications shows  the  following
features:
1. Domestic patent applications have a greater number  than
foreign patent applications, but the quality is not as good.
In all chemical patent  applications,   there  are  28  773
foreign applications and 33 670 domestic applications. The
total number of  domestic  applications  is  greater  than
foreign applications, but there is a considerable  gap  in
quality. Most of foreign chemical patent applications  are
invention patent applications ( applications  for  utility
model patent being only 73).   In  the  domestic  chemical
  patent  applications,   however,   there   are   13   888
applications for utility model patent, accounting for more
than 40% of the  total.   In  terms  of  invention  patent
applications, the absolute number of foreign  applications
is 28 700, being 45% more than 19 782 domestic applications.
It shows that patents applied for by foreign applicants in
China  have  a  high  technical  level,   and  commonplace
innovations such as  utility  model  will  not  apply  for
  patent  in  China.   It  also  shows  that  there  is   a
considerable gap between the domestic technical level  and
the foreign technical level in the chemical industry.
2. Comparison of patent application  number  among  various
chemical sectors
According to the statistical data,  the  sector  with  most
patent applications is the organic chemical sector.  There
are 14 191 patent applications in  the  sector,   7  times
greater than the number in the dyestuff sector ( 1  959) .
There are more than 4 000 patent applications  in  sectors
of high  polymers,   plastics  and  pesticides.   Chemical
fertilizers and inorganic chemicals have a  wide  coverage
and large production scale,   but  the  number  of  patent
applications is  relatively  small.   It  shows  that  the
production  technologies  in  these  sectors  are  already
mature and there are not many new research results.
3. Comparison  of  chemical  invention  patent  application
between China and foreign countries
In chemical invention patent applications received by China
Patent Office,   the  rate  of  authorization  in  foreign
applications accounts for 29%, a little  higher  than  the
rate  of  authorization  in  domestic  applications  which
  accounts  for  27%.   In  14  075  domestic  and  foreign
authorized patents, there are 12 723  service  inventions,
accounting for 90% of the total. As invention patents have
high technical contents, authorized  patents  should  have
substantive characteristics and  outstanding  advancement.
  Therefore  most  of  inventions  with  patentability  are
  service  inventions.   Innovations  made  by  individuals
usually can not reach that level  and  therefore  most  of
them fail to be granted the patent right.
  Almost all ( 99. 7%)   foreign  patent  applications  are
invention patent applications. In foreign invention patent
applications, there are 12 723 service inventions and  736
non-service inventions.  Service  inventions  account  for
around 97% of the total. Foreign  patent  applications  in
  the  chemical  industry  are  in  fact  foreign   service
invention applications. All the patents applied by foreign
companies in China have a high technical level. There is a
clear intention of  their  occupying  the  Chinese  market
through monopoly of advanced  technologies.   In  domestic
invention patent applications, there are  12  015  service
inventions and 7 767 non-service inventions.  Non- service
inventions account for 39.3% of the  total.   There  is  a
sharp contrast  between  domestic  and  foreign  invention
patent applications. It explains the reason in a  way  for
the lower rate of  authorization  in  domestic  inventions
than foreign inventions. We can also  see  from  the  data
that the sense of patent protection has not reached a  due
  level  in  research  and  development   departments   and
production departments in China. The poor sense of  patent
  protection  has  caused  some   unnecessary   losses   of
technologies and property rights. Due to various  factors,
some inventions should have belonged to service inventions
have now become non-service inventions.
4. Comparison of utility model patent  application  between
China and foreign countries
In patent applications accepted  by  China  Patent  Office,
utility model  patent  applications  are  far  greater  in
number than invention patent applications. It  shows  that
utility model patents are easier than  invention  patents.
In  the  chemical  industry,   however,   innovations  are