WIPO adds China patent collection to online database

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said Friday that it has added China's national patent collection of some 3 million documents to its online database, PATENTSCOPE, bringing the total number in the database to about 32.5 million.

PATENTSCOPE users now have access to English-language bibliographic data of Chinese patents and patent applications from 1985 through 1995 and from 1996 onwards the submissions include bibliographic data in English and Chinese, as well as descriptions and claims in Chinese.

In 2011, Chinese residents filed 415,829 patent applications, the most of any country in the world for the second year running, according to WIPO.

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said the addition of patent collection from China was another big step forward for PATENTSCOPE.

"These documents will give users a fresh, important perspective on the workings of one of the world's most-dynamic economies," he said.

PATENTSCOPE provides access to international Patent Cooperation Treaty applications in full text format on the day of publication.