Mapping of biotechnology patents of China from 1995-2008

The patents of China in biotechnology in the United States Patent and Trademark Office during 1995-2008 have been analyzed in this paper with the help of bibliometrics and social network analysis techniques. The analysis has been carried out from several perspectives including total patent output of industries, universities and public research institutes (PRIs) and their positions in the knowledge network, the main innovators and their interactions, the collaboration among Chinese regions and the collaborations from abroad. The results show that though with some improvements, the patent performance of Chinese organizations and regions in biotechnology still need to be improved. The connections between Chinese innovators are not very cohesive and they depend heavily on foreign knowledge, especial knowledge from U. S. multinational firms and universities. The important innovators of China in this field are mainly PRIs and universities. More and stronger firm innovators, especially large and powerful multinational companies, are strongly needed for the nation's biotechnology industry.