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.
In 2023, the number of patents granted by all Patent Offices grew by 10% to approximately 2 million. Published patent applications show that computer technology ranks first for worldwide filings, at 12%. Electrical machinery was 2nd at nearly 7%, followed by measurement at 5.9%, medical technology at 5.4%, and digital communications at 5.3%, based on 2022 publications, which is the most recently available data. For energy related inventions, solar (54%) and wind (19%) were the most common sub-categories.
In 140 global patent jurisdictions, there is an estimated 18.6 million live patents, up 7.6% over 2022. China, again, is #1 at 5 million enforceable patents, with the U.S. #2 with 3.5 million patents, followed by Japan with 2 million patents, the Republic of Korea with 1.3 million patent, and Germany with just under 1 million patents. Only 17.5 % of the patents around the world last the full 20 year term, and about 74 % of granted patents expire prematurely less than 10 years after grant.
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