Uniqueness of Chinese patenting patterns: the case of graphene

The article compares patenting patterns in China with the United States, South Korea, Japan and Europe, using the case of graphene, 2011–2015. It aims to reveal unique features of patenting in China and identify patent descriptors, diverging from international tendencies and relevant for economic modelling. Hypotheses rely on variables such as: counts of inventors, applicants, technology classes, countries selected for international patenting and geographical origins of patent citations. The research uses quantitative techniques (descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Jaccard index and social network metrics). Using multiple analytical perspectives, the study demonstrates the specificity of Chinese patents and their limited comparability with documents from other patent offices. This has important implications for the development of economic models, which need to take into account the identified incommensurability in cross-country patent data and avoid direct comparisons of data from China and other patent systems owing to the unique features and functions of patents in China.