World Intellectual Property Indicators Report: Record Number of Patent Applications Filed Worldwide in 2022

Geneva, November 6, 2023 - Global patenting activity soared to new records in 2022, fueled by Indian and Chinese innovators, but an uncertain economic outlook is weighing on further growth, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced.

Even as global filings for trademarks and designs dropped, innovators from around the world submitted 3.46 million patent applications in 2022, marking a third consecutive year of growth, according to WIPO’s annual World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report.

China, the US, Japan, Republic of Korea and Germany were the countries with the highest numbers of patent filings in 2022. While innovators from China continue to file nearly half of all global patent applications, the country’s growth rate dipped for a second consecutive year from 6.8% in 2021 to 3.1% in 2022. Meantime, patent applications by residents of India grew by 31.6% in 2022, extending an 11-year run of growth unmatched by any other country among the top 10 filers.

In releasing the report, WIPO Director General Daren Tang warned that geopolitical instability and an uncertain economic outlook could weigh on the global intellectual property (IP) ecosystem.

“IP filings have braved the pandemic to continue to grow, powered by increased levels of innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship and digitalization in all parts of the world. Developing countries are increasingly engines of IP, showing the greatest growth rates as they harness the innovation and creative potential of their people. However, uncertainty continues to weigh on the global innovation ecosystem, with venture capital funding dropping in many parts of the world. We urge investors to pursue quality, but not at the expense of supporting good ideas that can change the world for the better”, WIPO Director General Daren Tang said.

Trademark application class counts declined by 14.5% in 2022, following extraordinary growth in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a shift in work and life patterns, spurring the introduction of new goods and services into the marketplace. Similarly, industrial design filing activity recorded a 2.1% decline, following growth over the previous four years.

Continuing a longer-term trend, the bulk of IP filing activity occurs in Asia, from all origins. Asia accounted for 67.9%, 67.8% and 70.3% of global patent, trademarks and industrial designs filing activity in 2022.