Use of the IPC and various retrieval systems to research patent activities of US organizations in the People's Republic of China

Numerous studies have shown that our knowledge of the scope of patent activity and patent technology distribution in a developing country like China is inadequate. Literature searches indicate that there are papers on patent activities and international competitiveness in major developed countries. However, the majority of these researches were not based on the International Patent Classification (IPC) System analysis, only a few have applied IPC as a research tool. This paper describes a study of patent activities of US organizations in China. The researchers of the study employed the IPC system, conducted searches on several Chinese patent databases and undertook a technology assessment using 118 IPC classes to examine the distribution of US origin patent applications in China in various technological fields. The findings from this study have provided a clearer picture and better understanding of the US patenting activities in China. The results of the technology distribution of US origin patent applications in China, together with the top ten IPC classes of US origin applications and the top 20 US organizations that filed most patent applications in China from April 1985 to March 1999 are presented.