WIPO International Patent Applications: Innovators in India Significantly Increased Their Patent Filing Activity

In 2023, China-based Huawei Technologies, Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea, and the U.S.’s Qualcomm emerged as the top users of WIPO's international patent system. Meanwhile, innovators in India experienced a remarkable surge in patent filing activity, with an increase of nearly 50%. However, despite these notable developments, demand for international registrations of intellectual property (IP) through WIPO experienced a slight softening.

In addition to India, the Republic of Korea and Turkey are the only other countries to report year-on-year growth for three consecutive years. However, cross-border patenting via WIPO declined in China and the U.S., the two largest users of the system.

In light of increasing interest rates and economic uncertainty, filings through WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system experienced a 1.8% decrease, marking the first decline in 14 years. Similarly, applications in the international trademark system declined by 7%. However, the use of the international design system showed resilience, growing by 1%, driven by expanded activity from China.