Global innovators filed 3.7 million patent applications in 2024, a 4.9% increase from the previous year and extending a five-year growth streak.
As revealed by the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) latest Indicators report, the surge was driven by inventors in China, India, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the United States.
China alone accounted for 1.8 million applications, while the US filed 501,831. India recorded a 19.1% increase in patent filings, continuing a six-year streak of double-digit growth in the global space.
Finland and Türkiye also posted strong increases, with filings growing 15.4% and 14.6% respectively.
“In today’s competitive, global economy, innovation is a key driver of growth with IP at the center of many business strategies – whether protecting and promoting breakthrough technologies, trusted brands or eye-catching designs.
“The continued growth in IP filings also reflects strong confidence in the IP system and the efforts of governments, with WIPO’s support, to incentivize and strengthen innovation. Sustaining this trust requires ongoing global cooperation to ensure a robust and effective IP framework,” said Daren Tang, WIPO director general.
Globally, computer technology was the most patented field, representing 13.2% of applications in 2023, followed by electrical machinery (7.2%), measurement technologies (6.2%), digital communication (5.8%), and medical technologies (4.9%).
Computer technology was the only field to experience double-digit growth over the past decade, rising 10.3% from 2013 to 2023.
Trademark applications, meanwhile, stabilised after a two-year slowdown, totaling 15.2 million classes in 2024, a marginal 0.1% decline from 2023.
China led filings with 7.3 million classes, followed by the US (836,457), Russia (559,436), India (532,900), and Brazil (436,291). Growth was strongest in Brazil (+10.4%), India (+7.4%), and Russia (+2.9%), while China and the US saw slight declines.
Design filings also grew, reaching 1.6 million in 2024, up 2.2% from 2023. China topped global design applications with 906,849 filings, followed by Germany, the US, Italy, and South Korea.
Among the top 20 countries, India (+44.9%), Morocco (+20.2%), and Indonesia (+18.9%) recorded the largest increases.
The sectors generating the most design activity included furniture and household goods, textiles and accessories, tools and machines, ICT and audiovisual equipment, and electricity and lighting, which together accounted for nearly 63% of global filings.
Intellectual property is now a very important tool for economic growth, and the report on global patent filings, among other aspects, stresses this even more, driving innovation and brand development across multiple sectors worldwide.
