亞洲企業正帶動全球專利申請

Patenting has never been more popular. Applications have reached record levels at the world's main patent offices, fuelled by a sustained increase in applications from Asia.

專利申請從未像現在這樣流行過。受益於亞洲申請數量的持續增長，世界幾個主要專利局的專利申請數量均創歷史新高。

The boom is an encouraging sign for future economic growth, as companies intensify their efforts to turn the results of research into innovative products and services.

對於未來經濟增長而言，這一專利申請熱潮是一個令人鼓舞的跡象，因爲企業都在加倍努力，將研究成果轉化爲創新產品與服務。

The European Patent Office (EPO) received 160,000 applications last year, up 4.8 per cent on 2014. The World Intellectual Property organisation (WIPO) reported a 1.7 per cent increase to 218,000 in filings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which provides some international harmonisation.

去年，歐洲專利局收到16萬份專利申請，較2014年增加4.8%。世界知識產權組織稱，依照《專利合作條約》提交的申請數量增加了1.7%，至21.8萬份。

The top seven companies most active in the patenting arena are all based in Asia, according to the OECD's analysis of corporate patents between 2010 and 2012.

經合組織對2010年至2012年公司專利的分析顯示，在專利申請上最爲積極的前7家公司都在亞洲。

Within Asia, the big story is China. Patent filings by Chinese companies outside their home country have risen 30-fold so far this century.

在亞洲，表現突出的是中國。本世紀以來，中國企業在境外提交專利申請的數量增加了30倍。

Statisticians at the OECD have analyzed the distribution of patents filed in the world's five most important IP offices (Europe, US, Japan, China and South Korea) - so-called IP5 patents. In 2000, just 331 IP5 applicants were based in China; this had risen to 9,767 in 2012.

經合組織的統計人員分析了在世界上五個最重要的專利局(歐洲、美國、日本、中國和韓國)提交的專利申請——所謂IP5專利——的分佈情況。2000年，來自中國的IP5專利申請者僅有331個；2012年，這一數字已升至9767個。

"While the Chinese growth rate in patenting since 2000 does stand out, it started far behind its competitors," says Mariagrazia Squicciarini, OECD patent specialist. MainlandChinahad not caught up withTaiwanby 2012 and the Asian powerhouses ofJapanandKoreaare still well ahead in absolute numbers.

"儘管自2000年以來中國專利申請數量增速確實很突出，但中國的起點遠遠落後於競爭對手們，"經合組織專利專家瑪利亞格拉茲亞·斯奎恰里尼說。截至2012年，中國大陸還沒有追上臺灣，亞洲專利強國日本和韓國目前在絕對數字上仍遠遠領先於中國大陸。

"Japanhas always had a positive attitude towards IP rights embedded in its business culture," she adoes not have such a tradition but "there is an active policy by the Chinese government to foster patenting".

"日本歷來對深入其商業文化的知識產權抱有積極態度，"她接着說。中國並無這樣的傳統，但是"中國政府實行了鼓勵專利申請的積極政策"。

Analysis of different fields demonstrates an increase of IP5 patenting in most physics-based sectors, such as computer technology and digital communication. But patents based on chemistry and biology are in decline, including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.

對不同領域的分析結果表明，在大部分基於物理學的領域，如計算機技術和數字通信，IP5專利申請數量有所增加。不過藥物和生物技術等基於化學和生物學的專利申請數量正在下降。

These differences stem partly from faster technical advances and market growth in information and communications technology (ICT) than in the life sciences — and partly because of structural differences between them.

這些差別的部分原因在於，信息與通信技術領域的技術進步和市場增長快於生命科學領域。還有部分原因在於，兩個領域之間存在結構性差別。

"ICT products are becoming ever more complex," says Ms Squicciarini. "To get a smartphone on the market you may need hundreds of patents. And think about the digitisation of the economy — think of all the electronics going into cars, for example."

"ICT產品正變得越來越複雜，"斯奎恰里尼說。"若想把一款智能手機推向市場，你或許需要數百項專利。想想經濟的數字化--比如正在集成到汽車中的所有電子系統。"