Joint Patents with China Pose Pitfalls in U.S.-Led Decoupling

TOKYO — The increasingly global nature of intellectual property development could provide Beijing some protection from the U.S.-led push to cut China out of supply chains, as companies worry about losing access to key technology in such areas as electric vehicles.

American entities jointly applied for 125 patents in China with Chinese universities or companies over the three years through 2022. Japanese-Chinese joint applications were close behind, at 115.