Pendency and grant ratios of invention patents: A comparative study of the US and China

This paper compares and contrasts the invention patents of the US and China focusing on the application and granting practices. The findings show that both countries appear to make efforts to provide equal treatment to domestic and foreign applicants for patents in terms of pendency, but domestic applicants seem to enjoy more certainty of the patent being granted within the pendency period than foreign applicants in both countries. As regards grants, the US is equal in granting patents to domestic and foreign applications; China appears to give preferential treatment to domestic applications. Such practices have implications for both patenting policy and activities.