In a remarkable milestone for innovation, innovators worldwide submitted nearly 3.5 million patent applications in the previous year, marking an all-time high. What makes this achievement even more notable is the widespread geographic expansion of this growth.
TOP PERFORMERS
Among the top five patent offices, both China’s Intellectual Property (IP) office and the European Patent Office (EPO) have exceeded the global average in patent applications, said the World Intellectual Property Organization. Notably, the United States returned to a growth trajectory for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
DIVERSE GROWTH ACROSS THE GLOBE
Double-digit increases were witnessed at the offices of South Africa, India, and Indonesia. For India, this marks the sixth consecutive year of growth, with patent filings surging by a remarkable 25% in 2022, the fastest rate of increase since 2005. Notable rises in patent applications were also documented at the offices of Algeria, Colombia, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia.
RESIDENT VS. NON-RESIDENT FILINGS
The global filing landscape comprised a total of 3.46 million applications. Out of these, 2.41 million were resident filings, accounting for 69.7% of the total, and 1.05 million were non-resident filings, constituting 30.3% of the total.
CHINA AND THE EPO: SUSTAINED GROWTH
Among the top five offices, China exhibited strong growth in patent filings for the third consecutive year. Similarly, the EPO recorded a second consecutive year of growth. China saw a 2.1% increase in patent filings in 2022, building on an increase of 5.9% in 2021 and 6.9% in 2020. The EPO received 2.6% more applications in 2022, compared to a 4.7% growth in 2021.
ASIA DOMINATES GLOBAL FILINGS
Offices located in Asia played a dominant role in global patent filings, receiving approximately 2.35 million applications in 2022, which amounts to 67.9% of the total. This is not surprising, as three of the top five offices for patent applications are located in Asia. Over the past decade, Asia’s share of total global applications has surged from 56.1% in 2012 to 67.9% in 2022, primarily driven by China, which contributed 68.9% of all applications filed within the Asian region in 2022.
DECLINE IN EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA, AND OTHER REGIONS
In contrast, both Europe and North America have witnessed a significant decline in their shares of global patent applications over the past decade. North America’s share dropped from 24.5% in 2012 to 18.3% in 2022, while Europe’s share decreased by 4.4 percentage points to 10.3% during the same period. The combined share of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean (LAC), and Oceania amounted to 3.5% in 2022, marking a 1.2 percentage point decrease compared to 2012.