A leading Chinese research center said here on Sunday that China is lagging behind in integrated circuit (IC) patents despite the rapid growth of its IC industry.

Between 1985 and 2003, 71 percent of the 15,969 IC patent applications made in China were from foreign countries, according to a report issued by the National Research Center for Science and Technology for Development.

"Among the 4,624 applications from China, only 1,458 were from the Chinese mainland," the report said.

Among the ten China-based enterprises who have filed the largest number of patent applications, six were Japanese companies, according to the report.

"The figures show that foreign companies have dominance on the IC intellectual property rights in China," Yang Qiquan, a researcher with the research center said.

Yang said foreign companies could use their patent rights to contain the development of China's IC industry.

The report suggests the Chinese government set up research teams focusing on the study of patent and economic intelligence. It also urged IC researchers and patent experts to work together to improve China's competitiveness.

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2006)