March 16, 2020
We asked experts in our partner network from different countries how the IP industry is evolving and what innovations make 2020 special. AI affects everything, including the IP industry. Health should not be ignored either.
Due to the development of the Chinese economy, there is a huge IP market in China. The government is trying to make China an innovative country where attention is paid to IP protection. The IP environment is becoming better and better with patent and trademark applicants encouraged to file only high-quality applications. China’s Ministry of Education is encouraging universities, among others, to apply for IP protection in foreign countries as well.
New innovations are appearing especially in the fields of blockchains, big data, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Blockchain technology combined with financial systems will offer great opportunities for innovation and investment in the future. The Chinese central government is also encouraging companies in these areas. Another trend relates to the development of mobile payment. Mobile payment is well-developed in China, and there is still a huge market for related innovations due to the country’s large population.
Climate change and artificial intelligence affect many industries and, through them, also have an impact in the IP industry. There are industries that are now particularly encouraged in China, such as the production of electric cars. Correspondingly, many traditional industries, such as metallurgy, have lost their strong position due to climate change. In the future, artificial intelligence solutions, in turn, can be used to predict customer needs and requirements and to create IP strategies. IP services will become more efficient and accurate.
The coronavirus originated in China’s Hubei province, which may have a negative impact on many people’s views about Chinese people. The virus reminds us that health is the most important thing for a person. Consequently, there should be more investment in health care, pharmaceutical and medical instruments.
With increased awareness of the energy conversion and importance of wind, solar and thermal energy, renewable fuels are gaining a new and more secure foothold in US legislation as well. Even though the reduced price of oil has made investment in renewable energy sources less attractive, as technology advances, renewable energy sources will become more profitable and viable options than oil. The wind is turning towards ecological innovations, such as renewable fuels, battery technology and environmentally friendly energy storage.
Heightened innovation can also be seen in the area of cyber security protection innovations, such as blockchains. Data management is also being developed via artificial intelligence, for example, when developing new uses for existing drugs.
AI solutions are affecting every industry sector. Significant amounts of money are being spent on the development of artificial intelligence technologies, and many players are competing to become a leader in AI technology development. Leadership is sought, for example, through proprietary rights and patents for industry-specific innovations and their applications.
This year will also be interesting because IP rights are acting more and more as a driver for and a major factor in all business activities, such as mergers, acquisitions, joint venture and new franchise opportunities. Successful business partnerships are ones that analyse the impact of IP rights on their deal and partnering relationship. IP rights are material to success in almost every deal, and can no longer be just shrugged off.
In China, AI solutions are a hot topic. Universities, research institutes and companies are developing, for example, autopilot, smart cities, disease diagnostics and audio recognition. Interesting future innovations involve telecommunications, renewable energy sources and blockchains. Technologies related to IoT and big data are also trending.
China has the second largest market in the world, which is attracting more and more foreign companies. In 2019, the number of patent applications from foreign companies in China reached 157,000, representing an increase of 6%. Chinese companies have now also realised that they need to learn the rules of the intellectual property protection in order to succeed in global competition.
China has more than 40,000 IP agencies that handle trademark work and more than 2,500 that handle patent work. Not only does competition help the IP industry grow, it also has a positive impact on the development of legislation and IP rights.
The Chinese government is continuously improving IP rights. For example, last year, CNIPA (National Intellectual Property Administration of China) started the ‘Blue Sky’ initiative that sorted out hundreds of thousands of low-quality patent applications. Those efforts are continuing. We also predict that Chinese companies’ willingness to invest and innovate will win over their caution now that China and the US have reached the phase one agreement in the trade dispute. This, in turn, will drive the IP industry to provide more high-quality service to secure IP assets.
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