The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) released its Global Intellectual Property Protection Index Report (2025) at a regular press conference on 30 October. On the CCPIT's assessment, China scored 81.75, rising from seventh to sixth place and entering the top tier (80 points and above) for the first time. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) republished a China Intellectual Property News report on the release on 4 November.
Scope and new indicators
The CCPIT has run this annual study since 2022.
The 2025 edition covers 25 major economies accounting for more than 80% of global GDP. Two indicators are new: the number of AI-related patent applications, which tracks technological innovation, and the capacity to build IP as an economic asset, which tracks IP's economic contribution.
Main results
- The 25 economies averaged 75.03 points, 5.44 higher than a year earlier, and all improved.
- Nine economies made the top tier: one in North America, four in Asia and four in Europe.
- China has ranked first on protection performance for several years, leading on total grants, geographical indications, AI-related patent applications and standard-essential patents; it ranks second on protection foundations, driven by its R&D workforce, corporate R&D spending and number of Fortune Global 500 companies.
Advice for companies
The report advises companies to build IP planning into their business plans, file early in areas such as AI and data-related IP, use IP to negotiate partnerships rather than only to defend against infringement, and research the target market's entry thresholds, legal system, risk scenarios and their own IP position before going abroad. The CCPIT also issued guidelines on its services for Chinese companies investing abroad, listing 31, 17 and 12 services for the pre-investment, investment and post-investment stages, including IP due diligence and overseas IP enforcement and dispute support.
Source: www.cnipa.gov.cn
