& With global environmental degradation, accelerated resource consumption, and increasing attention to environmental issues, green technologies focusing on reducing resource consumption, developing renewable resources, and mitigating environmental pollution have become a global focal point. Policies encouraging and supporting the development of green industries have proliferated, driving the rapid advancement of green technologies and environmental industries. However, the creation, application, and dissemination of green technologies rely heavily on intellectual property systems, particularly patent protection. Countries, regions, and international organizations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China, the European Union, and the United Nations Climate Change Conference have begun exploring green patent systems by leveraging the public policy attributes of patent frameworks alongside goals for green technology innovation and development.
Green technologies refer to technologies that conserve resources, improve energy efficiency, prevent and control pollution, and achieve sustainable development. These mainly include alternative energy, environmental materials, energy conservation and emission reduction, pollution control and remediation, and recycling technologies. China is actively exploring the construction of a green patent system. Notably, the "Measures for the Management of Priority Patent Examination" implemented in August 2017 explicitly states that patents related to key national development industries—such as energy conservation and environmental protection, new-generation information technology, biology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, new materials, and new energy vehicles—may request priority examination.
According to the "China Green Patent Statistical Report (2014-2017)" released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) in 2018, China's green innovation activities are robust, with the volume of green patents steadily increasing. By the end of 2017, China's valid green patents reached 136,000. In terms of patent applications, from 2014 to 2017, China's green patent applications totaled 249,000, with an average annual growth rate 3.7 percentage points higher than the overall average annual growth rate of invention patents in China.
The China Green Patent Application and Authorization Database launched by the CnOpenData team is divided into three parts based on international standards: invention application patents, invention authorization patents, and utility model patents. Each category includes a basic information table and the corresponding green patent classification. The fields within the tables cover comprehensive patent information, enabling analyses of development trends, industry focus, regional distribution, characteristics of applicants or institutions, and other research topics requiring in-depth exploration.
Articles Citing This Data
Data Scale
Time Period
- Invention publications: Statistics based on application publication date: 1985-2024
- Invention authorizations/utility models/design patents: Statistics based on authorization announcement date: 1985-2024
Revision Notes
- Adheres to the latest WIPO green patent identification standards and updates all patent IPC classification information with the latest IPC codes;
- Added green patent categories to which patents belong, refining and expanding data tables to facilitate scholars' intuitive understanding of table settings;
Field Display
Sample Data
Basic Information Table for Chinese Invention Application Green Patents
Green Patent Categories for Chinese Invention Application Green Patents
Basic Information Table for Chinese Invention Authorization Green Patents
Green Patent Categories for Chinese Invention Authorization Green Patents
Basic Information Table for Chinese Utility Model Green Patents
Green Patent Categories for Chinese Utility Model Green Patents
Related Literature
- Tao Feng, Zhao Jinyu, Zhou Hao, 2021: "Has Environmental Regulation Achieved 'Quality and Quantity Improvement' in Green Technology Innovation?—Evidence from the Environmental Target Responsibility System," China Industrial Economics, Issue 2.
- Li Qingyuan, Xiao Zehua, 2020: "Heterogeneous Environmental Regulation Tools and Corporate Green Innovation Incentives—Evidence from Green Patents of Listed Companies," Economic Research Journal, Issue 9.
- Qi Shaozhou, Lin Shen, Cui Jingbo, 2018: "Can Environmental Rights Trading Markets Induce Green Innovation?—Evidence from Green Patent Data of Chinese Listed Companies," Economic Research Journal, Issue 12.
- Josh L., Amit S., 2021: "The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Finance and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies.
Data Update Frequency
Annual updates