WIPO Statistics Show Increases In Worldwide Patent Applications

On November 7, 2024, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) published is "Patents Highlights" for 2023, its most recent report on patent activity around the world. Patent application filings hit an all-time high of 3.5 million, an increase of 2.7% over 2022. This is the fourth consecutive annual increase, after a COVID decline of 3% in 2019.

Inventors filed 2.5 million applications in their home countries, and 1 million foreign applications. The top 5 patent offices for filings, in order, are China, United States, Japan, Korea, and Europe, which collectively account for 85% of all filings in 2023 around the world. China, alone, accounts for 47% of the world total of patent applications. The U.S. had the highest volume of foreign applications, more than double the number of foreign applications filed in China.