China's Impending Patent Valuation Crisis: How the CCP's IP Talisman Dilutes Patent Value

Abstract

Patent institutions and governments believe patents are fundamental to the growth of domestic innovation. China above all else has chosen a strategic patent regime as a talisman for economic change; a national solution to moving away from reliance on manufacturing and low-cost consumer products to high-yield technology. As such, the CCP has over the past 5 years instituted nationwide policies dedicated to expanding its patent office (the Sino Intellectual Property Office, or SIPO), and enacting a robust reward system for patent filers. This has resulted in a massive patent filing movement in China, characterized by expedited rubber-stamping of new applications and culminating in the fastest growing patent filing numbers any patent office has ever experienced. However, the long-term effect of China’s planned economic approach to patent filing may have unintended consequences. The current system awards filers for meeting the lowest filing standards. This could lead to a widespread misunderstanding and distrust of the Chinese patent system when patent holders realize their filings lack the same value of patents filed outside of China, or foreigners become frustrated by unreliable Chinese patent law. In a country long criticized for poor IP protection, future disillusionment with the national patent system may exacerbate the situation.