Mapping inventive activity and technological change through patent analysis: A case study of India and China

The characteristics of Indian and Chinese patenting activity in the US patent system are examined by delineating two categories of patents; ‘nationally assigned’, and ‘invented not nationally assigned’ patents (not-nationally assigned patents in short). Further within the above two categories, patents are distinguished and analysed in terms of patent types: utility, design, and plant patents. Indian patents are mainly of utility type whereas China's activity falls in both utility and design.In the ‘nationally assigned’ patents, the different types of institutions involved and linkages are much higher for China. However, ‘not-nationally assigned’ patents of both the countries are dominated by industry and inter-institutional collaborations are sparse. Patents addressing technology sectors (analysis based on utility patents) do not exhibit major differences between the two categories in Chinese patents and address with varying degree all technology sectors. Unlike China, India's ‘nationally assigned’ patents are concentrated in chemical and drugs & medical whereas their ‘not-nationally assigned’ patents are similar to that of China in addressing technology sectors. In design patents, Chinese ‘nationally assigned’ patents mainly cover ornamental design of lighting equipments whereas their ‘not-nationally assigned’ patents are mainly in design equipment for production, distribution or transformation of energy. Further, few firms are active in design patents in both the categories. India's design activity is insignificant in both the categories. The paper concludes by examining the results in the policy context.