Global patent application rates have reached a record high

3 december 2025

Interesting

According to the annual report of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) «World Intellectual Property Indicators» (WIPI), applicants’ activity has continued to grow for five consecutive years – in 2024, the total number was 3.7 million (+4.9 %). With regard to industrial designs, the increase was 2.2 %. After a decrease in the global number of trademark registration applications over the past two years, the figures generally stabilized in 2024.

«In today's competitive global economy, innovation is a key growth engine, and intellectual property (IP) is a central element of many companies' strategies. This is reflected in the protection and dissemination of cutting-edge scientific developments, and in strengthening brand confidence. The steady increase in the number of applications for IP rights indicates a high degree of confidence in the IP system and reflects the purposeful efforts of countries to stimulate and develop innovation with the support of WIPO», noted the Director General of WIPO, Daren Tang at the presentation.

China, India, the Republic of Korea and Japan accounted for the largest number of patent applications. Among the top 20 countries of origin in 2024, only three achieved double-digit growth: India (+19.1 %), Finland (+15.4 %) and Türkiye (+14.6 %).

Among the ten leading technical fields, only one, computer technology, showed a double–digit increase in the number of applications over the decade from 2013 to 2023, an increase of 10.3 %. Significant increases in the number of applications were also noted in the fields of control and measuring equipment (+7.2 %) and digital communications (+6.6%) over the same period.

More information about the report can be found here.

Based on the materials from the WIPO.

More news about intellectual property in our social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, VK).