




































 Humanities and Social Science Research; Vol. 1, No. 2; 2018 
ISSN 2576-3024   E-ISSN 2576-3032 

https://doi.org/10.30560/hssr.v1n2p57 

 57 Published by IDEAS SPREAD 
 

Analysis of Patent Technology Transfer in China 

 Take Guangdong Province as an Example 
 Zhi Liping1 & Li Yanyan2  
1 Ph. D of School of Computer Science & Information Engineering, Anyang Normal University, Anyang, China 
2 M.A student of Anyang Normal University, Anyang, China 
Correspondence: Zhi Liping, School of Computer Science & Information Engineering, Anyang Normal University, 
Anyang, China. Tel: 1-350-372-8754. 
 
Received: November 21, 2018; Accepted: December 12, 2018; Published: December 17, 2018 
 
The research is financed by the Henan Philosophy and Social Science Project (No. 2015CZH004) & the Training 
Scheme for Young Key Teachers in Universities of Henan (No. 2016GGJS-123) & the Key Project of Science and 
Technology Research of Education Department of Henan (No. 16A520040) & the Humanities and Social Science 
Project of Education Department of Henan (No. 2019-ZZJH-479) & the Soft Science of Intellectual Property 
Rights of Henan (No. 20190106013). 
 
Abstract 
Taking the status of China's patent technology transfer as the research goal, select the representative Guangdong 
Province as the research object, Using the incopat innovative intelligence platform as a data source, 157,178 related 
content were retrieved, And from patent technology transfer trends, technology ownership, applicants, geography, 
legal and operational status, patent agents and other aspects of analysis. Research shows that the development of 
China's patent technology transfer is strong, but there are some problems, in particular, the transfer of patent 
technology in research institutes and research institutions needs to be strengthened, and there is a large gap in 
regional patent technology transfer. Therefore, it is necessary to create a favorable environment for patent licensing 
and technology transfer and transformation policies, and actively guide the industrialization of patent technology 
in universities and research institutions, Strengthen the transfer of scientific and technological achievements to the 
market, train and expand the technical transfer of professional talents and so on, further promote the integrated 
development of science and technology and the economy, and accelerate the transformation of scientific and 
technological achievements into actual productivity. China's patent technology research has certain reference value 
for other countries. 
Keywords: China, Guangdong, patent technology transfer, patent transfer, patent license 
1. Introduction 
Technology transfer is the act of technology owners transferring their production technology, sales technology or 
management technology and related rights to any third person in various forms. Patent technology transfer is one 
of the main contents of technology transfer, especially the transfer of patent technology from one region to another 
in a certain way. The transfer of patent technology has become one of the important forms to realize the 
industrialization of patent technology, and it is also the main way to improve the overall core competitiveness of 
enterprises. China is rich in innovative resources and well-developed infrastructure, especially in recent years, and 
is considered to be an important highland for technological innovation in the world. It is of great theoretical 
significance to choose the representative Guangdong Province to conduct research on the status quo and 
countermeasures of Chinese patent technology transfer. 
2. Data Sources and Patent Search 
The data source is the incoPat Technology Innovation Intelligence Platform 4.0 developed by Beijing Hexiang 
Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., which includes more than 100 million patent data received by 105 countries, 
regions and organizations around the world. The official website is http://www.incopat.com. The reason for 
choosing this search platform is based on incoPat not only the comprehensive patent data, but also the registration 
and filing data of patent licenses and patent transfers of the State Intellectual Property Office. The data source is 



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authoritative and fast, which provides high-quality basic data for the study of patent technology transfer. This 
study searches and analyzes the patent technology transfer data of Guangdong Province in 1998-2017 on the 
incoPat innovation intelligence platform. The patent technology transfer mainly includes two forms of patent 
transfer and patent license. 
Next, in the incoPat patent search system, the Guangdong province patent whose legal status is transfer or license 
is retrieved. The national code 44 represents Guangdong Province, and the final patent search formula is:  
((((((ASSIGN-FLAG=1)OR(LICENCE-
FLAG=1)))AND((PNC=CNANDPT=("1"))OR(PNC=CNANDPT=("2"))OR(PNC=CNANDPT=("3"))))AND((P
NC=CNANDPT=("1"))OR(PNC=CNANDPT=("2"))OR(PNC=CNANDPT=("3")))AND(pnc=cn)ANDAP-
PC=("44") 
3. Data Analysis of Chinese Patent Technology Transfer  
3.1 Overview 
The incopat data platform retrieves the total amount of patent technology transfer in 31 provinces across the 
country. The chart shows the top ten patent technology transfer volumes in China's provinces and cities, from 
which it can be analyzed: Guangdong Province ranks first in the country with 124,471 patents, and has a significant 
lead with Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Beijing, Shandong and other cities, but it is a big gap with cities such as Fujian, 
Sichuan, Hunan and Anhui. The reason for this is closely related to Guangdong's policy support. Due to the high-
tech enterprises in Guangdong, the corporate culture is strong, and the top management of the company actively 
encourages the transfer of patent technology and other factors. 
Figure 1 can grasp the change of patent application heat in the analysis period from the macro level through the 
application trend. Since Guangdong Province is an open coastal city, after the reform, it is mainly based on 
manufacturing. This is also an early stage of industrial upgrading in Guangdong, that is, the transition from 
manufacturing to “creating” industries precedes inland areas. Therefore, the invention of patents in Guangdong 
has been increasing year by year. It is reflected in the statistics of the data. Before 2015, the number of patent 
applications and patent disclosures showed an increasing trend year by year, and reached the highest value in 2015. 
Since the patented invention can only be made public until it is 18 months old, the data is statistically analyzed 
until 2015. 

 
Figure 1. Development trend of patent application transfer in Guangdong Province (1999-2015) 

 
3.2 Analysis of IPC Technical Composition of Patent Technology Transfer 
The technical composition is represented by the IPC classification number. The top ten IPC classification numbers 
(in small categories) concluded: The main ones (such as G06F, F21V, H04L, and F21Y) involve high-tech 
industries such as electronic information, electronic equipment, and new materials, and there are areas such as 
A47J that are related to the daily life of the home. It is not difficult to see the comprehensiveness and diversity of 
the analytical objects in the technical components. According to the IPC classification number, the annual change 



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trend of the technical composition of patent technology transfer in Guangdong Province is shown in Figure 1: The 
larger the bubble, the more patents there are. From the analysis in the figure, we can conclude that: H04W (wireless 
communication network) and H04L (transmission of digital information) continue to rise in number before 
2008,and reached the highest peak around 2008, after which it decreased year by year. H21V (functional features 
or components of lighting fixtures or their systems; structural components of lighting fixtures and other items not 
included in other categories), G06F (electrical digital data processing), H21S (non-portable lighting fixtures or 
systems thereof) ), H21Y (involved in the composition of the light source combined with the subclass F21L, F21S 
and F21V), These four categories have increased significantly year after year after 2006, and the number of patent 
applications has increased by a large margin. Other classification topics such as H01R (conductive connection; a 
combination of structural components of mutually insulated electrical connection elements; connecting devices; 
current collectors), H05K (printed circuit; housing or structural parts of electrical equipment; manufacture of 
electrical component components), A47J (kitchenware; coffee mill; spice mill; beverage preparation device), 
H04N (image communication) did not change much. Therefore, Guangdong Province has gradually embarked on 
the development path of high-end industries, focusing on the development of the information and communication 
industry. This indicates that the current development of Guangdong Province is moving towards the matching of 
industrial layout and regional functions, and the direction of regional industrial dislocation and coordinated 
development. 

 
Figure 2. Distribution and development trend of patent applications in different technical directions (1999-2017) 
 

3.3 Analysis of Patent Transfer & Patent Licensing 
According to statistics: Guangdong Province's patents are in the form of utility models, accounting for 44.34%, 
invention and creation applications, accounting for 34.72%, and accounting for 20.94% of the design . Since 2000, 
Guangdong Province has developed rapidly in the direction of patent technology transfer, and the progress of 
patent licensing has been slow, with a large gap between the former and the former. Patent licenses are favored in 
other provinces and cities such as Beijing. This is because, on the one hand, patent licenses are flexible and flexible, 
including five types: full license, exclusive license, general license, sub-license, and cross-licensing; On the other 
hand, due to the good maturity of the patent license, the licensee can directly apply the patented technology to 
obtain greater benefits and returns in accordance with the contractual implementation permit method. Therefore, 
while promoting the development of patent transfer, Guangdong Province needs to recognize the advantages and 
importance of patent licensing and continuously strengthen the application of patent licensing. 
4. Research Conclusions and Recommendations 
According to the previous analysis of patent technology transfer trends, technology ownership, applicants, regions, 
legal and operational status, patent agents, etc., the research and analysis of the status quo and causes of patent 
technology transfer in Guangdong Province, the following conclusions and recommendations. 
4.1 Status and Existing Problems 
Patent is an important yardstick for regional creation level, and patent technology transfer is the main expression 
of patent industrialization. After analyzing this paper, we have learned that the main problems are: (1) The benefits 
of government technology investment to form technical patents are relatively low. (2) The geographical gap of 
patent technology ownership is large, and the development potential of some regions needs to be explored. (3) The 
transfer of patent technology is still dominated by enterprises, which also makes it pay more attention to the 
proportion of development in universities, institutions and other organizations in the future development. (4) The 



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distribution of patent technology applicants in Guangdong Province is unevenly distributed, and the 
communication information industry is more focused. For example, the fields of home appliances, household 
appliances, and equipment manufacturing are relatively small, and the industrial distribution is uneven. (5) The 
scale of transfer of patent technology in Guangdong universities is particularly weak. Many patents cannot meet 
the needs of emerging markets and appear to be “sleep patents”. While promoting the development of the patent 
transfer situation, the understanding of the advantages and importance of patent licensing needs to be strengthened, 
and the application of patent licensing is insufficient. 
4.2 Proposal to Promote the Transfer of Patent Technology 
In combination with China's national conditions, the specific countermeasures proposed are: 
1) Create a good patent authorization and technology transfer policy environment 
The government should further strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, guide scientific and 
technological achievements to declare patents, encourage more patented technologies to enter the market, and it is 
necessary to promote patented inventions and innovations through tax reductions and exemptions. Through the 
implementation of measures such as the transfer of funds from special funds and other programmes to increase 
support for the transfer of patented technology, Establish a good technology research and development practice 
site, and cooperate with high-tech incubators to continuously promote the industrialization of patented technology 
infrastructure. 
2) Promote the balanced development of patent technology transfer in different regions 
Carry out comprehensive training on the training of patent technology transfer talents, Establish a group of patented 
technology transfer talent education bases with institutions and localities with superior resources. Actively play 
the role of the scientific and technological community in promoting the transfer and transformation of patent 
scientific and technological achievements, and promote the accurate docking of scientific and technological 
achievements in the demand side and the supply side. 
3) Pay attention to the transfer and transformation of patents in universities and research institutes  
At the same time as the enterprise-led patent technology transfer, pay attention to the transfer and transformation 
of patents in universities and research institutes, and at the same time strengthen the transfer of scientific and 
technological achievements to market-oriented services, and comprehensively promote the perfect development 
of patent technology transfer institutions. Enrich the role of different platform channels such as technology 
property rights transactions and intellectual property transactions. Vigorously develop the "Internet + Intellectual 
Property" program plan, set up an application platform for intellectual property databases, and promote the free 
distribution of patents, copyrights, trademarks and other information to achieve interconnection and mutual benefit.  
4) Promote more balanced patent transfer in different industries and encourage 
Promote more balanced patent transfer in different industries and encourage patent technology applicants to 
increase investment in household appliances and equipment manufacturing industries. In addition, it is necessary 
to build a team of talents for the transfer of scientific and technological achievements, and to pool and transfer 
scientific and technological talents to carry out the transfer and transformation of patented scientific and 
technological achievements, and vigorously develop the management mechanism for the transfer of talents in 
scientific and technological achievements. Creatively carry out the "Internet +" innovative talent service model, 
organize public service activities such as science and technology assistance, education and training. 
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