The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) held its regular press conference for the third quarter in Beijing on July 10.

This is the first release of statistics related to patent, trademark and geographical indicators since the reform of the SIPO. The data shows that in the first half of 2018, China's intelligent property rights index achieved rapid growth, showing a positive trend in development.

The quantity of patent applications for inventions and their authorization reached 751,000 and 217,000 in China respectively. The application of trademark registrations has now reached 3.59 million, with 10 newly accepted applications for the protection of geographical indication products.

The statistics show four features related to the growth of patents, trademarks and geographical indications during the first half of 2018. The first is the steady progress of the utilization and creation of intellectual property rights. The number of invention patents being authorized grew by 6.5 percent and possession rose by 19.5 percent year-on-year.

The second feature is that domestic enterprises' status as the country's main innovator continues to consolidate, with enterprises contributing 66.9 percent of all applications for innovation patents.

The third point is that overseas patent applications from Chinese enterprises increased by 80.69 percent this year, which puts China third among the countries listed under the Madrid system.

The last highlight is the improvement of protection to intellectual property rights. The action of administrative law enforcement in patent dispute cases increased by 41 percent and the number of investigated cases regarding illegal trademarks reached 13,600, which has established a better business and innovation environment.