China increases US patent holdings

WASHINGTON: Chinese inventors received a record number of US patents in 2018 and are on pace to overtake Germany in the No. 4 position of top recipients, according to an analysis of filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Inventors working for Chinese companies were issued 12,589 US patents in 2018, a 12% jump on the year and a 10-fold increase over the 1,223 they received a decade ago.