New Chinese patent data has been added to Derwent World Patents Index (DWPI) and Derwent World Patents Index First View, providing broader coverage of China’s growing patent activity. Effective November 1, 2007, English-language translations for Chinese Utility Model registrations are now available in DWPI First View, beginning with records published on October 3, 2007.

The need for English-translated patent data is more important than ever as China continues to transition from a manufacturing to an innovation-based economy. According to Thomson Scientific’s World IP Today Global Patent Activity Report (1997-2006), patent activity in China grew by 470 percent since 1997, and this growth is expected to continue. The addition of the new Chinese patent data in DWPI and DWPI First View will position Thomson Scientific as a leader in Chinese patent research.


Chinese Utility Model Registration Records
DWPI First View is the first patent database to provide weekly coverage of all English-translated Chinese Utility Model Registrations, an important source of prior art. A utility model is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which allows the right holder to prevent others from commercially using the protected invention without authorization for a limited period of time. Chinese Utility Models have a protection period of 10 years, and typically cover incremental developments in existing technology.

The Chinese Utility Model registration records are loaded initially into DWPI First View as work in progress. The timeliness target for loading these is within two weeks of publication by the Chinese patent office. The following fields are available to searchers:

• Bibliographic information (patent number, filing dates, IPCs, inventor and assignee names) 
• Patentee code (a DWPI value-add) 
• English translation of the author, title, abstract and first claim (all records are human translated)

Once the editorial process is completed, the records are loaded into DWPI and the corresponding records in DWPI First View are removed. The records in DWPI will have the same benefits that are available for other DWPI patent records, including alerting abstracts and CPI/EPI manual coding.

The Utility numbers will be formatted as follows:

CN20NNNNNNNY
20 = IP right (indicating a utility model) followed by 7-digit serial no. Utility Models have the status Y

More Chinese Patent Data Coming Soon
The addition of Chinese Utility Model registrations is just the first of expanded Chinese patent coverage we will be adding. In coming months, we will be including Chinese Utility Model records from June to September 2007, and will also be improving the timeliness of the Chinese Invention patents that are already being covered in DWPI and DWPI First View.