On the 12th local time, the World Intellectual Property Organization released its annual report "World Intellectual Property Indicators". The report noted that global patent applications and global design applications continued to rise in 2024.
After two years of slowdown, global trademark filings are showing signs of recovery. China performed outstandingly, ranking first in the world in terms of all three applications. According to the report, global patent applications will grow for five consecutive years in 2024, reaching a record high of 3.7 million, an increase of 4.9%. China continues to rank first in the world with 1.8 million patent applications, followed by the United States (501831), Japan (419132), South Korea (295722) and Germany (133485). From the data point of view, computer technology is still the technology with the highest frequency of published patent applications in the world, accounting for 13.2% of the global total. This is followed by motor equipment, measurement technology, digital communication and medical technology, which is basically the same as in 2023.
Global trademark filings are showing signs of recovery after two years of slowdown. The total number of trademark applications in 2024 will reach 15.2 million, a slight decrease of 0.1% from 2023. The largest source of applications was China, with about 7.3 million applications, followed by the United States (836457), Russia (559436), India (532,900) and Brazil (436291). Global design applications increased by 2.2% to 1.6 million in 2024. The number of design applications filed by Chinese applicants is 906849, ranking first in the world. This is followed by Germany (70,212), the United States (66,855), Italy (63,668) and South Korea (60,109). Together, the top five source countries accounted for nearly three-quarters of global design filings in 2024. WIPO Director General Daren Tang pointed out that IP is important for business and economic growth.
In today's competitive global economy, where innovation is a key driver of growth, intellectual property has become at the heart of numerous business strategies – whether it's protecting and promoting breakthrough technologies, trusted brands, or compelling designs. The continued growth in IP applications also reflects strong confidence in the IP system and the efforts of governments to incentivize and enhance innovation with WIPO's support. Maintaining this trust requires ongoing global cooperation to ensure robust and efficient IP frameworks.
The annual report provides a comprehensive overview of global filing dynamics in the field of patents, trademarks, designs and other intellectual property rights, based on statistics from the IP sectors of approximately 150 countries and territories around the world.
