China ranks first globally in number of invention patent applications in 2023

China ranked first globally in the number of invention patent applications, with a total of 1.64 million applications in 2023, said World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024, which was released by World Intellectual Property Organization on Thursday.

According to the report, patent applications recorded a fourth consecutive year of growth, reaching a record high of 3.55 million, with the residents of China, South Korea, the US, Japan and India being the main drivers of growth.

Innovators residing in China filed around 1.64 million patent applications worldwide in 2023. China was followed by the US, which reported 518,364 applications. Japan had a total of 414,413 patent applications last year, while those in South Korean totaled 287,954 filings, and Germany, 133,053 applications.

In 2022 – the latest year for which complete data are available owing to the delay between application and publication – computer technology emerged as the most frequently featured technology in published patent applications worldwide, accounting for 12.4 percent of the world total. It was followed by electrical machinery, measurement, medical technology and digital communication, the report showed.

China led the world in design patent applications with 882,807 filings in 2023, followed by applicants from the US (69,076), Germany (64,986), and Italy (60,486), according to the report.

In 2023, approximately 29,070 plant variety applications were filed worldwide,

marking a 6.6% increase compared to 2022. China was the top contributor globally, submitting 15,552 plant variety applications, accounting for 53.5 percent of the world total.

Last year, China also became the country with the most geographical indications, followed by Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, according to the report.