International patent filings are falling for the first time in 14 years due to the unstable global economic situation, the UN revealed on Thursday.
The only exception is France, despite higher interest rates, bucking the trend.
A total of 272,600 international patents were filed in 2023, a decrease of 1.8% compared to the previous year, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization said in its annual report.
“
We believe this reflects the current unfavorable environment for innovation and entrepreneurial activity
,” WIPO chief economist Carsten Fink said at a press briefing in Geneva.
Economic uncertainties and especially rising interest rates were seen as the main reasons for this decline.
However, underlined Carsten Fink, it must be seen as a “
cyclical
” phenomenon linked to the economic situation.
“
We believe that intellectual property filings will resume once the external environment improves
,” the economist explained.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang predicts “
a resumption of international intellectual property filings later this year
.”
“
Despite these short-term declines, longer-term trends show that the use of intellectual property is steadily increasing
” driven by increased globalization and digitalization and economic development in more countries.
For patents filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, China remained at the top of the ranking, with 69,610 filings.
But it is a drop of 0.6% compared to 2022, the first for this country since 2002. The United States recorded a more marked decline of 5.3% but remains in second position with 55,678 deposits.
They are followed by Japan, South Korea and Germany respectively.
South Korea is the only one of the big five in the ranking to have filed more patents than in 2022 (+1.2% to 22,288).
India shows a spectacular increase in deposits (+44.6%) but for a still modest total (3,791).
Among the few other countries that showed growth were Turkey, with an increase of 8.5%, the Netherlands (+5.8%) and France, up 2%.