China world's biggest source of blockchain patents in 2017

Chinese companies pushed forward research into blockchain technology last year, with the country submitting more than half of all global blockchain patents in 2017, according to data compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

225 patent applications were filed by Chinese blockchain companies last year, a huge increase on the 59 patents filed in 2016. Globally 406 patent applications were made, with blockchain now being applied in a huge variety of sectors, ranging from Fintech to controlling information along supply chains in agriculture.

The data did not include patents related to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, many of which operate using blockchain technology. American and European companies dominated the cryptocurrency sector in terms of protecting intellectual property, with 602 new crypto-related patents filed in 2017.

The boom in patent applications from China suggests an uptick in activity in blockchain research and development. Last September saw a blockchain research center opened by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a research institution under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Chinese tech giant Ant Financial and bank ICBC have both launched blockchain projects to tackle poverty in the country, while other blockchain innovations launched in the country have included secure chat forums and even poultry farms where chickens are equipped with wearable tech.

Last year, China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce released data showing that China handled 3.691 million trademark registration applications in 2016, while last year it was ranked second in the world by WIPO in terms of international patents.

(CGTN)