On February 10, according to the data released by WIPO in Geneva, Chinese applicants submitted 69500 international patent applications through PCT in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 0.9%, ranking first in the list of applications for the third consecutive year.

In 2021, the total number of PCT international patent applications increased against the trend, reaching 277500, a year-on-year increase of 0.9%, achieving a new record. The top 5 countries in terms of application volume are China, the United States (59600, +1.9%), Japan (50300, -0.6%), South Korea (20700, +3.2%) and Germany (17300, -6.4%).

A total of 13 Chinese enterprises entered the top 50 of the global PCT international patent applicant list, an increase of one enterprise over 2020. Among them, Huawei ranked first with 6952 applications for five consecutive years. A total of 19 Chinese colleges and universities rank the top 50 of the global PCT international patent applicant list in educational institutions, an increase of 4 over 2020, making China the country with the largest number of colleges and universities on the list, and the United States ranks second (18).

In terms of technical field, computer technology (9.9%) accounts for the largest proportion of PCT international patent applications, followed by digital communication (9.0%), medical technology (7.1%), electrical machinery (6.9%) and measurement (4.6%). Among the top 10 technical fields in terms of application volume, the application volume of drugs increases the fastest, reaching 12.8%, followed by biotechnology (+9.5%), computer technology (+7.2%) and digital communication (+6.9%).

Also, in 2021, 73100 international trademark applications were submitted by global applicants through the Madrid System, with a year-on-year increase of 14.4%, the fastest growth rate since 2005. China continues to rank third in the world after the United States (13276) and Germany (8799) with 5272 applications.

(Source: CNIPA)