BEIJING — China on July 9 reported a stable trend in intellectual property development in the first half of this year.

More than 683,000 invention patent applications were filed in China in H1, and a total of 217,000 invention patents were authorized, the National Intellectual Property Administration revealed at an online press conference.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd had 2,772 invention patents authorized last year, ranking first on the Chinese mainland.

By the end of June, the number of valid invention patents held on the Chinese mainland had reached 1.996 million. The average ownership of invention patents had also reached 14.3 patents per 10,000 people.

The number of valid trademarks had reached 27.414 million.

China also saw more enterprises applying for patents in H1, said Hu Wenhui, spokesperson for the administration.

About 229,000 Chinese companies applied for patents in the first half of 2020, an increase of 32,000 compared with the same period last year. They submitted a total of 404,000 invention patent applications, up by 12 percent year on year.

The scale of using geographical indications has gradually expanded. In the Jan-June period, 322 companies were approved to use geographical indications, a significant increase from 116 approved in the same period last year.

The H1 data shows that China's major intellectual property indicators were in line with expectations, and its intellectual property development remains stable amid the COVID-19 epidemic, Hu said.