With global environmental deterioration, accelerated resource consumption, and increasing public attention to environmental protection, green technologies—focusing on reducing resource consumption, developing renewable resources, mitigating environmental pollution, and other eco-friendly fields—have become a global hotspot. Policies encouraging and supporting the green industry have proliferated, driving the rapid development of green technologies and environmental industries. However, the creation, application, and promotion of green technologies are inseparable from the protection of intellectual property systems, particularly patent systems. 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 based on the public policy attributes of patent regimes, aligning with the goals of green technology innovation and development.
Green technology refers to technologies that facilitate resource conservation, energy efficiency improvement, pollution prevention and control, and sustainable development. It primarily includes alternative energy, environmental materials, energy saving and emission reduction, pollution control and management, and recycling technologies. Currently, China is actively exploring the establishment of a green patent system, especially under the "Measures for Prioritized Examination of Patent Applications" implemented in August 2017. These measures explicitly state prioritized examination can be requested for industries critical to national development, such as energy conservation and environmental protection, new-generation information technology, biotechnology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, new materials, and new energy vehicles.
According to the "China Green Patent Statistics Report (2014-2017)" issued by the Intellectual Property Office in 2018, green innovation activities in China are robust, and the volume of green patents is gradually increasing. By the end of 2017, the number of valid green patents in China reached 136,000. Regarding patent applications, from 2014 to 2017, green patent applications in China totaled 249,000, with an average annual growth rate 3.7 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of invention patents.
The China Green Patent Application and Authorization Database, developed by the CnOpenData team, is divided into three parts according to international standards: invention application patents, invention authorization patents, and utility model patents. Each part includes a basic information table and a category of green patents. The table fields encompass comprehensive patent information, enabling analyses of development trends, key industries, regional distributions, applicant or assignee characteristics, and other research aspects requiring further exploration.
Database Application Guide
CnOpenData China Green Patent Application and Authorization Data Application Logic: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NwqKp4AM1LGc0jOOhb3WPw
Academic Papers Citing This Data
Data Scale
Time Period
- Invention publication dates are counted by application announcement date: 1985–2024
- Invention authorization/utility model/design authorization dates are counted by authorization announcement date: 1985–2024
Revision Notes
- Followed the latest WIPO green patent identification standards and updated IPC classification numbers;
- Added green patent categories to data tables for enhanced clarity and ease of use;
Field Presentation
Sample Data
Basic Information of Chinese Green Invention Application Patents
Green Patent Categories of Chinese Green Invention Application Patents
Basic Information of Chinese Green Invention Authorization Patents
Green Patent Categories of Chinese Green Invention Authorization Patents
Basic Information of Chinese Green Utility Model Patents
Green Patent Categories of Chinese Green Utility Model Patents
Relevant Literature
- Tao Feng, Zhao Jinyu, and Zhou Hao, 2021, "Does Environmental Regulation Achieve 'Quality Improvement and Quantity Increase' in Green Technology Innovation?—Evidence from the Environmental Protection Target Responsibility System," China Industrial Economics, vol. 2.
- Li Qingyuan and Xiao Zehua, 2020, "Heterogeneous Environmental Regulation Instruments and Corporate Green Innovation Incentives—Evidence from Green Patents of Listed Companies," Economic Research Journal, vol. 9.
- Qi Shaozhou, Lin Shen, and Cui Jingbo, 2018, "Can Environmental Rights Trading Markets Induce Green Innovation?—Evidence from Green Patent Data of Chinese Listed Companies," Economic Research Journal, vol. 12.
- Lerner, Josh, and Seru, Amit, 2021, "The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Finance and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies.
Data Update Frequency
Annual updates