Geneva 16th Reuters-The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) revealed on March 16 that the number of global patent applications in 2018 was 3.3 million.
In the country where applications were accepted, China accounted for 15.4%, up 11.6% from the previous year, accounting for nearly half of the world. By industry, applications in the field of communication and computer technology were conspicuous, and overseas inventors and foreign companies filed for 10% of patents seeking patent protection in China.
The second place is the United States, the first decrease in the past 10 years, with 600,000 cases down 1.6% from the previous year.
The number of patent applications in the world in 2018 was 3.3 million, the number of trademark rights was 14.3 million, and the number of design rights was 1.3 million. Asia accounted for over two-thirds of the total.
China ranks first in all three areas. The number of patent applications in the country was comparable to the total number of applications in 10 countries / regions, such as Japan (3rd), South Korea (4th), and European Patent Office (5th).
WIPO Secretary General Gary pointed out that "the application for intellectual property (Asian) is increasing its presence as a world center". In addition to “a remarkable increase” in India, “China is a major driving force, and the number of applications from China, the number of applications to China, and the number of applications to the Chinese Patent Office are extremely prominent.”
According to the Executive Director, the United States has the largest number of patent applications overseas. US companies and inventors filed 230,000 patents overseas in 2018. In contrast, there were 66,400 patents filed overseas by Chinese companies and inventors.