Over 90 percent of Chinese companies have no patent application experience, and only 0.03 percent of Chinese companies have their own intellectual property rights (IPR).

Chen Jinhua, president of the China Entrepreneurs Association, made the remark in Beijing Thursday at a conference on corporate IPR protection and self-innovation.

China still has a long way to go in encouraging companies to innovate, as many corporations invest little in research and development, he acknowledged.

Against the backdrop of economic globalization, more Chinese companies are paying great attention to IPR protection and taking corresponding measures, he said.

Figures show that from April 1985 to the end of 2005, the State Intellectual Property Office altogether accepted 2.76 million patent application cases, with an annual growth rate average of 18.9 percent.

At the conference, the China Entrepreneurs Association, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the China Association of Foreign-Funded Enterprises jointly issued a written proposal, inspiring all Chinese companies to take concrete actions to protect IPR and follow the international rules in this area.

Representatives of more than 300 renowned Chinese enterprises also signed a document at the conference, promising to use software with authorized copyrights.