BANGALORE,INDIA:ZTE Corporation (ZTE), a global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today announced that The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has released international (open) patent application figures for 2009.

According to a release, China came 5th on the ranking list, one place up from 2008, with a rapid increase in patent applications. ZTE increased its patents filed by 50 per cent in 2009, as the number of WIPO applications worldwide drop for the first time in 30 years.

ZTE led many major companies in intellectual property in 2009, with a substantial increase in global patent applications. WIPO data shows that ZTE’s international open patent applications reached 502 in 2009, 173 more than in 2008. ZTE actually applied for 1,164 international patents in 2009, and many are still being processed by WIPO.

China as a whole continues to strengthen its innovation position with the fastest patent growth among major countries, up 30 per cent year-on-year amidst a downturn in IP globally.

WIPO record shows that it received a total of 155,900 international patent applications in 2009, with leading countries of United Stated, Japan, Germany, South Korea and China respectively. Based on China’s international patent application growth, Financial Times predicts that China will replace the United States to become the leading global scientific intellectual property holder by 2020.

“ZTE has persistently pursued a principle of combining patent applications with market demand, product R&D and standards research rather than an eye for merely numerical increases in patent applications,” said Mr. Guo Xiaoming, ZTE’s Global Intellectual Property Director. “We’ll continue to bring in more state-of-the-art technologies to drive the development of the global telecom industry.”

In recent years, Chinese enterprises have attached great importance to implementing market-oriented corporate strategy centered on patent quality improvement, and leading to greater activity on the international patent and standards stage. ZTE has organized a total of 22 major international standardization conferences, including the 3GPP2, IEEE802.16 and TISPAN, which were held by a Chinese enterprise for the first time with ZTE. Through these conferences, Chinese enterprises have demonstrated to the world the innovation and strength of China in the telecom and communications industry.