China trademark numbers – and applicants – soar in 2016

China’s State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has revealed that it received close to 3.69 million trademark applications in 2016, up from 2.88 million the previous year.

The year-on-year rise in filings also grew, with 2016’s 28.4% increase outstripping 2015’s 26.9%. In terms of registrations, the SAIC granted more than 2.12 million trademarks through the year, which means that there are now approximately 12.4 million registered trademarks in China. According to the Xinhua news agency, just over 3 million – or 81.3% – of last year’s applications were filed online.

China was also the most commonly designated country in international applications in 2016. The latest World Intellectual Property Organisation statistics reveal that 22,314 international applications designated the jurisdiction, ahead of the European Union (21,526), the United States (20,979), Russia (14,604), Japan (14,522), Switzerland (13,984) and Australia (12,967).

In overall terms, international applications grew by 7.2% in 2016, with US applicants the most prolific filers of international marks (with 7,741 in total). However, while Chinese applicants were the fourth largest filers, with 3,200 applications, there was a significant increase in their numbers last year (+69% year on year).