China powers global patent applications to new record in 2015: WIPO

Innovators in China powered global patent applications to a new record in 2015, filing more than a million applications for the first time ever within a single year, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Wednesday said in a report.

According to WIPO's annual World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report, in total, innovators around the world lodged some 2.9 million patent applications in 2015, representing a 7.8-percent increase over 2014 and the sixth straight year of rising demand for patent protection.

China's patent office received 1,101,864 filings in 2015, making it the first office to receive more than a million applications in a single year, including both filings from residents in China as well as from overseas innovators seeking patent protection inside China.

This totaled almost as many applications as the next three offices combined: the United States(589,410), Japan (318,721) and South Korea (213,694).

U.S. applicants filed the most applications abroad (237,961), marking a 6.0-percent increase.

Though innovators based in China filed comparatively fewer overseas applications (42,154), that figure has risen steadily over the past two decades.

"As policy-makers seek to invigorate growth around the world, it is encouraging to report that intellectual property filing activity saw healthy progression in 2015," said WIPO director general Francis Gurry. "While China continues to drive global increases, IP use grew in most countries in 2015, reflecting its increasing importance in a globalized knowledge economy."

In terms of trademark applications, China -- with a class count of 2.83 million -- saw by far the highest trademark filing activity in 2015. It was followed by the United States, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, Japan and India. Endit