China filed 1.8 million patent applications last year, accounting for nearly half of all patents worldwide. That is more than three times the number of patent applications filed in the United States.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 13th, citing data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), that China submitted the most patents as a single country.
China's patent applications last year totaled 1.8 million, up about 153,000 from the previous year. The United States remained in the 600,000 range for the same period, followed by Japan, Korea, and Germany. China's share of the global patent market also expanded rapidly. Its share jumped from 34.6% in 2014 to 49.1% last year, nearing half.
A patent application is the stage of applying for a patent, while registration means that the patent right is actually recognized after examination. China finalized registration for about 1.04 million patents last year, more than three times the United States (about 320,000).
The gap between China and the United States was stark in the increase in patent registrations as well. Compared with 2023, China's registrations increased by more than 120,000, while the United States increased by just over 4,000, a 27-fold difference.
It was found that 93% of patent applicants filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration are residents within China. In contrast, more than half of the applicants to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) were non-U.S. residents. This is interpreted to mean that overseas corporations have a large presence in targeting the U.S. market.
According to WIPO, 3.7 million patents were filed worldwide last year, and 2.1 million were registered. SCMP added that more than 70% of the world's patents come from Asia, with filings from China, India, and Korea rising particularly sharply.
By field, computer technology accounted for the largest share at 13.2%, followed by electrical machinery, instrumentation, digital communication, and medical technology.