Long way to go

Yang Zongfu and Li Rongbiao both attribute their success to their preparation before going into production - compiling meticulous surveys and accurate marketing strategies.

China has more than 120 million people older than 65. In his research, Li found that more than 20 million of the 82 million people with disabilities in China have difficulty walking. He concluded that the market for electric wheelchairs has great potential. What's more, imported electric wheelchairs cost at least 24,000 yuan, twice as much as his.

Li designed a five-wheel wheelchair connected by metal bars shaped in a regular pentagon. The length of metal bars is based on the national standard height of a stair step, so the wheelchair can easily go up and down the stairways. Because staircases in old buildings are extremely small, Li installed two wheels under the seat that can turn 360 degrees so his chair could navigate tight corners.

Li studied at a university in the 1960s, and he worked for 20 years importing goods from Japan. Most inventors, however, are not well educated and finished only middle or high school, said Wang Yuzhong, director of invention promotion center at the China Association of Inventions.

"It takes a very long time to turn the idea for an invention into a product. Usually, an applicant can get a patent by submitting a concept. But the applicant has to make a model to check how the idea works and further improve the model," said Wang. Most inventors earn less than 50,000 yuan a year, according to a survey the association conducted.

Inventors can also authorize companies to manufacture their patents, but it's extremely difficult to get paid. Like Yang, many inventors have been conned when they tried to do this. Guo Tianqiao, from Dalian, was cheated by five companies, in Changli county, Hebei province, and Heze, Shandong province. Now he has to rely on donations from strangers to pay the 8,000 yuan annual fees for his patents each patent costs 2,000 yuan in annual fees.

The leadership in China attaches great value to grassroots inventors and their contributions. This month, Zhao Zhengyi, a farmer and inventor - of concrete foundations for heavy duty cranes - from Beijing was received by Vice-president Xi Jinping.

In January 2008, Premier Wen Jiabao met Yang Zongfu in Beijing when he submitted his idea for snow removal equipment, at a time when continuous snow and icy rain wreaked havoc in South China.

"In the 10-minute meeting, Premier Wen told me to make more inventions that will help our people, especially when they face destructive disasters," Yang recalled.

Li and his wife have no plan to expand production - the equipment and labor would cost more than they have, and investors have shown little interest because there are no quick investment returns in wheelchairs. Li wrote to the China Disabled Persons' Federation three times in an attempt to get subsidies because, to his mind, the federation is responsible for the welfare of people with disabilities. His letters went unanswered.

In 2011, the inventors of more than 60 percent of the 10,270 patents authorized for production got contracts of less than 10,000 yuan from companies buying the rights. Only 4.3 percent of the contracts were worth 1 million yuan, according to Zou Dingguo, a researcher at Tsinghua University's TusPark Research Institute for Innovation.

Zou said China needs to better protect intellectual property rights to create fair and equitable competition.

Yang Zongfu has a plan to open a training center for inventors, to produce more good ideas and help them apply for patents. The next step would be to establish a platform for inventors to connect with companies to make the most of the patents.

"As long as new ideas are accepted by businesses, patents can promote economic and social development. That way, our economy can be more sustainable and healthy," Yang said.

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