(i) Global development of photovoltaic patents
From 1985 to the end of 2023, the global photovoltaic patent applications totaled 312,000, of which 168,000 patents were applied for by Chinese applicants, and 57,000, 28,000 and 20,000 were applied for by Japan, South Korea and the United States respectively. China, Japan, South Korea, the United States is the main source of patent applications, the number of patent applications in each country accounted for the ratio of the total number of global patent applications were 53.8%, 18.3%, 9.0% and 6.4%.
Percentage of Patent Filings in Countries of Origin of Major Global Applicants
The total number of effective invention patents in the global PV field is 54,000, and the ratio of effective invention patents to the total number of applications is 17.3%. The total number of effective invention patents belonging to Chinese applicants is 22,000, and the effective invention patents belonging to applicants of Japan, the U.S., and South Korea are 11,000, 0.8 million, and 0.5 million, respectively. As shown in the chart below, the ratio of valid invention patents of Japan, the United States and South Korea to the total number of their respective patent applications is 19.3%, 25.0% and 28.6% respectively, which is higher than the global average (17.3%), while the ratio of valid invention patents of Chinese applicants to the total number of China's patent applications is 13.1%, which is lower than the global average .
(II) Patent development in China's photovoltaic industry
From 2003 to 2023, China's patent applications in the field of photovoltaic grew rapidly, with an average annual growth rate as high as 22.1%. As of 2023, the cumulative number of patent applications and effective patents were 166,000 and 73,000 respectively, both ranking first in the world, and it has become an important pole of innovation in the global photovoltaic industry.
Statistics on the number of patent applications in each province and city, in terms of "the number of patent applications, the number of effective patents, the number of effective invention patents" and other indicators rankings, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong are ranked among the top three, of which Jiangsu in the field of photovoltaic patents 42,458, much higher than other provinces and municipalities. Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong are important regions for the development of PV industry in China. Jiangsu is home to many PV companies such as Trina Solar, GCL, Atlas, Orient Sunrise and Runyang. Zhejiang has four important PV manufacturing industry agglomerations in Ningbo, Jiaxing, Quzhou and Yiwu, and many national and provincial key laboratories and cooperation platforms for production, learning and research in higher education institutions. Guangdong has formed a relatively complete industrial chain under the impetus of PV manufacturing, silicon energy and other industrial policies, and has gradually become an important national inverter production and manufacturing base, with leading enterprises such as Huawei, Guruivate, Crestec, and Shouhang.
The total number of patent applications and the total number of effective invention patents were further analyzed for the four municipalities directly under the central government, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin, as well as the prefecture-level cities in China. In terms of the total amount of effective invention patents, Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen and Changzhou ranked the top five in terms of the amount of effective invention patents. The top-ranked cities focus on patent quality while taking advantage of patent application volume. The eastern coastal cities are more active in innovation, and the eastern region gives full play to its leading role in the process of PV industry technology development.
In terms of overseas patent applications, in 2023, China's applicants applied for 1,838 international patents at the World Intellectual Property Organization, a year-on-year increase of 19.71 TP3T. 661 patents were applied for at the European Patent Office, a year-on-year increase of 23.31 TP3T. The United States, Japan, and South Korea were the key countries in which China's applicants carried out patent layouts, with a respective layout of 1,015 patent applications, 439 applications, 258 pieces. In addition, China's applicants in Australia, India, Germany, Brazil, Spain and other countries with large-scale new installed capacity, as well as Indonesia, Malaysia and other overseas investment and plant construction target countries have also carried out patent applications and protection.
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