Infographic: Global Patent Filings – The Rise of China

Do you have a good idea in mind that could change the world (and possibly makes you rich)!? Sure – patent it. But how many people think like this? According to the World Intellectual Property Organization there were nearly 2.7 Million patent applications in 2014!

Compared to 2013 there was a growth of 4,5% (2013: 2,564,800 -> 2014: 2,680,900). And guess who’s the leading nation in applying for patents? China! 928,177 patent application of the 2.7 Million patents come from China. That over 34%!

To give you a good overview, check the infographic:

[PDF]

Computer technology (7.8% of total) saw most applications worldwide, followed by electrical machinery (7.4%), measurement (4.8%) and digital communication (4.6%). Digital communication and computer technology have been the two fastest growing technological fields over the past 20 years.

Trademark application up – Industrial design application down

For the first time in more than 20 years, the total number of designs contained in all industrial design applications filed worldwide in 2014 dropped by 8.1% to about 1.14 million in 2014.2.
The fall was mainly due to a sharp decrease in filings by Chinese residents.

Trademark applications have almost doubled since 2000. The total number of classes specified in applications reached 7.45 million in 2014, up 6% on 2013. China ? with a class count of 2.22 million ? saw, by far, the highest trademark filing activity, followed by the US (471,228), the EU?s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) (333,443).

Overview: Key Numbers for 2014

Source:

World Intellectual Property Organization