ADOPTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AS A CULTURE

China has been in a patent rush since 2000 and has become the world leader with an average of 1.5 million patent applications annually

China is known to be one of the most developed countries in the world in terms of inventions, patents, and innovation. The fact that it was ranked 11th in the Global Innovation Index last year is proof of this. Behind China’s success in this field lies a strategy that has been thought through and planned to the finest detail.

We can confirm this by looking at the number of applications China has made in our country in the last 3 years. Having applied for 328 patents, 2008 trademarks and 9 designs in 2019, China applied for 298 patents, 2028 trademarks and 43 designs in 2021. Despite the small decrease in the number of patents, there is an increase in the fields of brand and especially design. Design applications increased 5 times between 2019-2021. Looking at the 26-year period between 1995 and 2021, it is seen that China made a total of 2,159 patents, 18,279 trademarks and 332 design applications to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.

Today, we see that almost all of the prominent Chinese brands give priority to industrial property rights, especially patents. Having made a breakthrough and a name for itself in recent years, Huawei became the company making the most European patent applications with 4,505 applications in 2022. It is no coincidence that Huawei is competing with Samsung, LG, and Qualcomm.

It has been proven that the 11% increase in patent applications contributed to a growth of approximately 1% in the country’s economy. China has been in a patent rush since 2000 and has become the world leader with an average of 1.5 million patent applications annually. Even though only 30% of patent applications pass to the document stage, we all know the level China has reached in the commercial field today.

In order to launch world brands with global influence, there must be a parallel development in all items of industrial property rights. For example, TikTok, China’s fastest-growing brand, has a brand value of USD 59 billion, having increased by 215% this year. Huawei, on the other hand, increased its brand value by 29% despite geopolitical challenges. ICBC is the most valuable brand in China with a value exceeding USD 75 billion. BYD’s brand value keeps increasing as the electric vehicle market expands.

Today, we see that almost all of the prominent Chinese brands give priority to industrial property rights, especially patents

So what is the secret behind China’s success? The most important reason is China’s targeted progress. The constantly increasing numbers show this very clearly. The point China has reached in the innovation index, the increase in patent and design applications in the last 5 years is an important indicator of how targeted China’s approach is. China rose up to 11th rank in 2022 in the Global Innovation Index, where it was 22nd in 2017. Being up 11 ranks in 5 years cannot be a coincidence or an unplanned move.

China knows very well that a country’s development and production of added value are directly related to the country’s success in the field of industrial rights, and most importantly, China makes use of this issue. By imposing this on its brands in a short time, it ensures that industrial rights are adopted as a culture. It sets brand and sector-based targets. For example, studies on design started 10 years ago at universities. In short, we can say that the reason why China has started to get successful results in its products, both technologically and in terms of design, is the targeted approach.

Even though it is not possible to compare our country with China, it is a great success that Türkiye is the country with the highest number of trademark applications after China. In addition, there are lessons to be learned from China’s targeted progress. In case we are willing to apply for higher numbers of patents and designs in the future, we need to increase the interest of young people in this field. Türkiye has just started this. The Ministry of National Education directed all schools to this field with the goal that each school should work on one brand, patent, or design. As a result, the application records were broken with the competition among the schools. In summary, in order to achieve success, it is imperative that we take a targeted path and adopt our industrial property rights as a national culture.

Chairman of Destek Patent, Kemal Yamankaradeniz.