China has surpassed the United States and Japan to become the world’s top patent filer this year.
Reuters is reporting that patent applications from China are expected to reach nearly 500-thousand in 2015.
According to World Intellectual Property Organization, Chinese companies have also been climbing in the rankings in terms of overseas patents.
Last year, China’s 2nd-largest telecommunications equipment maker, ZTE, ranked second on the list of patent applicants, ranking just behind Japan’s Panasonic.
Huawei Technologies sits in fourth on the list