China Dominates Global Patent Filings

The recently restructured China National Intellectual Property Administration (CINPA) received 1.54 million new patent applications in 2018, with the result being that patent filings in China grew by 11.6 per cent since 2017. Overall, the CINPA received 46.4 per cent of total global patent filings in 2018. These figures suggest that Chinese companies are taking notice of the country’s call for more self-sufficiency in core tech.

According to a report from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Unites States – with 597,141 patent filings – was the second largest filer in 2018, followed by Japan, South Korea, and the European Patent Office. Interestingly, United States applicants sought the largest amount of foreign protection of intellectual property rights, having filed more than three times as many overseas patents applications than their Chinese counterparts.

Authors: Larissa Fulop and Matt McDonald