The number of invention patents in China continued to show robust growth along with "continuous improvement" in the quality of filings last year, according to a recent report by the State Intellectual Property Office.

Gan Shaoning, deputy commissioner of SIPO, announced at a press conference in Beijing last week that 825,000 invention patent applications were processed last year, an increase of 26.3 percent over 2012, the most in the world for the third consecutive year.

Compared with patents for utility models and designs, invention patents are considered to have the highest quality and value as they have the most stringent requirements and the longest period of validity.