According to the statistics issued by WIPO, 69,546 strains of microorganisms for patent purposes are deposited at 37 International Depository Institutes in 22 different countries all over the world, and 12,988 strains of microorganisms are provided to the public by the International Depository Institutes. By the end of 2009, the United States deposited the largest number of microorganisms (29,423 strains); Japan deposited 10,033 strains of microorganisms; German deposited 6,647 strains of microorganisms; and China deposited 6,614 strains of microorganisms, ranking fourth in the worldwide. Besides, the United States issued the largest number of microorganisms (9, 796 strains), German issued 720 strains of microorganisms, Japan issued 669 strains of microorganisms, and China issued 148 strains of microorganisms, ranking eighth in the worldwide.

It is reported that microorganisms for patent purposes are the core of the patent biotechnology. The amounts of deposition and issue of microorganisms for patent purposes reflect the level of biotechnology research in a country, activities on biological studies, and protective effect of intellectual property in biotechnology field on the one hand.

It is reported that the countries ranking the top four are: Japan, ranking the first by filing 361 thousand applications in China, and the United States, Germany and South Korea which follow Japan filed 242 thousand, 89 thousand, and 81 thousand patent applications in China, respectively. Other countries filing a large number of patent applications in China are sequentially: France 37 thousand, Holland 35 thousand, Switzerland 27 thousand, U.K 22 thousand, Sweden 17 thousand, Italy 16 thousand, and Finland 10 thousand.

The report analyzes the total numbers of first-filings from China, Europe, Japan, South Korea and the United States according to Derwent Word Patent Index (referred to as “DWPI”) and takes the total numbers as an important index among more than ten indices for evaluating global innovative activities, and reaches the above conclusion.

According to the report, from 2007 to 2008 growth rates of the number of China’s patent applications in Europe, Japan, and the United States are 33.5%, 15.9% and 14.1%, respectively, indicating that Chinese applicants are trying to increase Intellectual Property protection abroad. By promulgating a number of new policies for inspiring innovation, China is becoming a land of global innovation.

It is further mentioned in the report that the growth speed of China’s high-tech innovation is presently much higher than the agriculture-centered innovation growth, and that China’s patent quality is increasingly improved.

According to the Rules, the SIPO shall, within 7 working days from the date of receipt of documents of request for registration of pledge of a patent right, conduct an examination and decide whether the pledge of the patent right shall be registered; and during the pledge period of a patent right, where the pledgor does not provide materials certifying that the pledgee agrees to abandon or transfer the patent or issue a license, the SIPO shall not handle relevant formalities such as registrations of abandonment or transfer, or record of licensing contract and so on. The provision in the old Temporary Rules that pledge of a patent right by a unit owned by the whole people shall be approved by the superior competent department has been deleted from the Rules.

It is learned that, since the start of the experimental work of patent right pledge loan, accumulatively about 2000 pledge loan projects have been implemented in the whole country, and the financing amount is approaching approximately 25,000 millions RMB, thus providing an important support for development of economy and society. The old Temporary Rules was abolished as of the date on which the Rules came into effect.