China: agricultural patents increase

Based on the statistics released by China Center for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (CCIPA) under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, during 2002 to 2008, the amount of patent applications related to agriculture increased from more than 4,500 pieces to over 9,300 pieces.

According to CCIPA researcher Liu Lijun, in the past 10 years, patent filings in agriculture innovative fields in China rose fast, especially in the field of transgenic crops. Last year, the patent applications concerning transgenic crops were 342 pieces, however, only 119 pieces in 2002. Pleasingly, these innovation technologies have been used in the nation. In 2008, China planted about 4 million hectare of transgenic cotton, taking up 70% of the cotton farmland in China.