W&B IP Newsletter
June of 2024, Vol. 86

Contents
The Latest from Watson & Band
Watson & Band Again Recognized in 2024 IAM Patent 1000 Ranking, Several Professionals Acclaimed asOutstanding Individuals………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2Watson & Band Again Listed in MIP's 2024 IP STARS Trademark Rankings………………………………………… 2Watson & Band’s Senior Founding Partner Shenmin Xu Elected as Executive Director of the 11th Council of the AllChina Patent Attorneys Association…………………………………………………………………………………… 3Watson & Band Again Listed in Benchmark Litigation 2024 China Rankings………………………………………… 3Patent
CNIPA Releases Statistics on Patents (January-May 2024)…………………………………………………………… 3Trademark
CNIPA Releases Statistics on Trademarks (January-May 2024)……………………………………………………… 6

Other Intellectual Property Developments
CNIPA Releases Statistics on Geographical Indications and IC Layout Designs (January-May 2024)………………… 7

Special Bulletin
Chinese Enterprises Strengthen Patent Presence in Belt and Road Countries in 2023………………………………… 7Website：www.watsonband.comE-mail：mailip@watsonband.com | mail@watsonband.com

The Latest from Watson & Band

Page 2

Watson & Band Again Recognized in 2024 IAM Patent 1000 Ranking, Several Professionals
Acclaimed as Outstanding Individuals
Recently, the internationally renowned intellectual property media outlet, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM),
unveiled its 2024 "IAM Global Patent 1000" rankings (IAM Patent 1000 2024). Watson & Band's exceptional
professional capabilities, outstanding achievements, and stellar reputation in the patent realm have once again beenrecognized, earning the firm listings on both the patent application and patent litigation sectors for China.
Furthermore, Hua Xiao,
General Manager and Yingcong
Xu, Deputy General Managerof Watson & Band IntellectualProperty Agency Ltd., have beenrecognized as Outstanding Individuals in the patent application sector for another consecutive year. Additionally,Senior Partner Jianguo Huang and Partner Yue Zhang of Watson & Band Law Offices have also been honored again as
Outstanding Individuals in the patent litigation category.
The IAM Patent 1000 is dedicated to the patent sector, conducting comprehensive research and providing objective
ratings for professionals and law firms across various specialized patent areas within key jurisdictions worldwide. This
allows the publication to recommend the top-performing firms and practitioners to industry professionals globally.

Watson & Band Again Listed in MIP's 2024 IP STARS Trademark Rankings
The prestigious “IP STARS 2024 China Trademark Law Firm Rankings” haverecently been released, with Watson & Band once again securing its position
among the top echelons. For the fifth consecutive year, the firm's exceptional trackrecord and esteemed reputation in trademark dispute resolution have secured its
place among the elite, highlighting its leadership in the “Trademark Disputes”
category.
IP STARS stands as the go-to comprehensive guide in the global intellectual
property landscape, providing invaluable insights for corporations and individuals
seeking to engage top-tier IP legal talent.
Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) launched its pioneering legal directoryin 1994, which evolved into the renowned IP STARS in 2013. With its extensive
coverage spanning over six intellectual property domains and more than 70
jurisdictions, IP STARS has firmly established itself as the definitive, globally
acknowledged and authoritative resource for IP firms and professionals.

The Latest from Watson & BandPage 3Watson & Band’s Senior Founding Partner Shenmin Xu Elected as Executive Director of the11th Council of the All-China Patent Attorneys Association
During the prestigious 11th National Member Representative Conference of the All-China Patent Attorneys Association, held at Beijing’s Friendship Hotel on June 12, Shenmin Xu, Senior Founding Partner and Senior PatentAttorney at Watson & Band, was elected as an Executive Director of the 11th Council.
The conference attracted over 300 delegates nationwide, including high-profile figures such as Changyu Shen,
Party Secretary and Director of the National Intellectual Property Administration. Prominent officials from the United
Front Work Department, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs also attended, along with officials and member representatives from various provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across the country.

Watson & Band Again Listed in Benchmark Litigation 2024 China Rankings
On June 4, 2024, Benchmark Litigation, a globally respected legal rating agency, released its 2024 China Rankings, reaffirming Watson & Band’s position as a leader in the field. The firm was ranked in the second tier in the“Shanghai: Intellectual Property” category for the fourth consecutive year, a recognition that began with its debut inthe inaugural edition of Benchmark Litigation China in 2021.
This consistent recognition highlights Watson & Band’s relentless dedication to excellence and its formidable
reputation in the intellectual property dispute resolution. Yizhou Liu, Secretary General of Watson & Band’s Management Committee and a distinguished Senior Partner, has once again been honored as a “Litigation Star” in this area.

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Patent
CNIPA Releases Statistics on Patents (January-May 2024)

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has recently published patent statistics for the first
five months of 2024 on its official website. The data reveals significant trends across different categories of patents inChina:
1. Invention Patents: 462,000 grants, marking a substantial increase of 36.1% compared to the same period last year.
2. Utility Model Patents: 784,000 grants, showing a decrease of 15.1% year-on-year.
3. Design Patents: 263,000 grants, declining by 11.3% from the previous year.

Statistics on Patent Grants(January to May of 2023 and 2024)

1,000,000

924,275

900,000

784,483

800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000

461,5632023

339,0482024

296,013
262,676

300,000
200,000
100,000
0
Inventions

Utility Models

Designs

Patent Grants by Category in China: January to May 2024

262,67617%

461,563
31%

Inventions
Utility Models
Designs

784,48352%

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PatentEffective Patents in China by Category: Cumulative
Figures as of May 2024

3,204,000
16%

5,326,000
26%

Inventions
Utility Models
Designs

12,036,000
58%

From January to May 2024, the CNIPA received 26,900 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international patentapplications. Domestic applicants accounted for 24,600 of these submissions.
In the realm of industrial designs, Chinese applicants filed 676 international design applications between Januaryand April. Additionally, from January to May, 960 published international design applications designated China.
The CNIPA's monthly report, which categorizes domestic patent grants by type of patentees, provides a comparisonof patent grants for the first five months of 2024 against the same period last year as follows:(Source: CNIPA)Page 6Trademark
CNIPA Releases Statistics on Trademarks (January-May 2024)

China's trademark activity showed significant growth in the first five months of 2024. The CNIPA reported 2.877
million trademark applications, a 3.9% increase year-on-year. Trademark registrations surged by 26.7%, reaching 2.128
million. As of May 2024, the total number of valid registered trademarks in China stood at 47.805 million.

(Source: CNIPA)

Other Intellectual Property Developments
CNIPA Releases Statistics on Geographical Indications and IC Layout Designs (January-May2024)

In addition, from January to May 2024, 4,355 applications for registration of layout designs of integrated circuits
were filed in China, and 4,633 registration certificates were issued.
(Source: CNIPA)

Special Bulletin

Page 7

Chinese Enterprises Strengthen Patent Presence in Belt and Road Countries in 2023
2023 marked a significant milestone: the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This decade has
seen a continual advancement in the quality and scope of BRI collaborations, leading to increasingly close economicand trade relationships between China and the countries participating in the initiative (hereafter referred to as "BRIParticipating Countries"). Notably, this period has witnessed a bilateral strengthening of intellectual property (IP)strategies. Recent statistical analysis reveals several key trends in the patent activities of Chinese enterprises within
BRI Participating Countries:
1. Chinese Enterprises Expand Patent Portfolios Across More BRI Participating Countries
In 2023, Chinese companies filed patent applications or received grants in 40 BRI Participating Countries, up from38 in 2022. The top five countries for patent applications from Chinese entities were:
1. South Korea: 4,383
2. Singapore: 1,225
3. Russia: 1,170
4. Indonesia: 1,121
5. South Africa: 886
These five countries accounted for 74.1% of all Chinese patent applications in BRI Participating Countries.
Chinese enterprises received the most patent grants in:
1. South Korea: 2,573
2. Russia: 852
3. South Africa: 625
4. Vietnam: 369
5. Luxembourg: 342
These countries represented 78.9% of all patents granted to Chinese entities in BRI Participating Countries. Pleaserefer to Fig 1 below:

Special Bulletin

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2. Chinese Patent Applications in Belt and Road Participating Countries: Dominated by Guangdong, Beijing,
and the Yangtze River Delta
In 2023, Chinese enterprises significantly expanded their patent activities in countries participating in the Belt andRoad Initiative (BRI). Key findings include:
Overall Trends:- 2,610 Chinese companies filed patent applications in BRI Participating Countries, up by 181 from 2022.
- 1,731 enterprises were granted patents, matching the previous year's figure.
Regional Leaders:
1. Guangdong Province:- Led with 4,441 patent applications- 6.5% year-on-year increase- Represented 37.5% of all applications, up 1 percentage point from 2022
Other Major Contributing Regions (applications exceeding 500):
2. Beijing: 1,503 (12.7%)
3. Jiangsu: 1,075 (9.1%)
4. Shanghai: 795 (6.7%)
5. Zhejiang: 723 (6.1%)(Please refer to the Fig 2 below)
These top five regions, all from China's most economically advanced areas - the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster,
the Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area (including Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau) - accounted for
72.0% of all patent applications in BRI Participating Countries.

Special Bulletin

Page 93. Significant Advantages in Patent Portfolios of Digital Technology Enterprises
In 2023, the top five companies by the number of patent applications published in China were Huawei (1,180),
CATL (768), Vivo (655), Tencent (276), and ZTE Microelectronics (267). In terms of the number of patents granted,
the top five were Huawei (589), Baidu (340), OPPO (185), Vivo (175), and Tencent (148). These leading companies
are primarily involved in digital technology (Please refer to Figure 3 below).

4. Accelerated Expansion of Green and Low-Carbon Technology Patents
1. Country Distribution

Special Bulletin

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2. Distribution by Technical Field

3. Enterprise Activity
In 2023, a total of 352 Chinese companies applied for green and low-carbon patents in Belt and Road Initiative
Participating Countries, an increase of 90 companies from the previous year. Additionally, 252 companies received
patent grants, up by 71 companies from the previous year.
(Source: CNIPA)