The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) published a recent statistical report indicating that only in 2022, 278,100 International Patents were filed – the highest number ever recorded in a single year. India and the Republic of Korea (increase of 25.4% and 6.2% respectively) led with the highest growth. (full report can be found here).
These numbers show that, overall, companies and institutions continued to invest heavily on innovation and intellectual property in 2022, prompted to develop new goods and services in order to overcome the recent social and economic hurdles faced globally.
Also, design protection recorded a growth of 11.2% in 2022 (reaching 25,028 filings), mainly due to China’s entrance on to WIPO’s international design registration system (Hague System) in may 2022. Notwithstanding, the number of international trademark filings declined by 6.1% in 2022 (Madrid System), the largest drop since 2009. The total number of applications filed in 2022 was around 69,000.
The European Patent Office (EPO) also provided a recent report indicating that in 2022, around 193,000 new patent applications were filed in the Office, an increase of 2.5% over the last years and representing a new record.
Electrical and Digital Communications sectors leaded the highest growth in the period (increase of 18.2% and 11.2% respectively), followed by the biotechnology sector, with a 11% growth, its best rise in over five years and according to EPO “confirming a renaissance that started before the pandemic”.
The top technical fields at EPO on 2022 were:
1º Digital communications: 16,705 filings (+11.2%)
2º Medical technology: 15,683 filings (+1.0%)
3º Computer technology: 15,193 filings (+1.8%)
4º Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy: 13,951 filings (+18.2%)
5º Pharmaceuticals: 9,310 filings (+1.0%)
6º Transport: 9,272 filings (-2,6%)
7º Measurement: 9,185 filings (+1.0%)
8º Biotechnology: 8,168 filings (+11.0%)
9º Other special machines: 6,382 filings (-1.8%)
10º Organic fine chemistry: 5,955 filings (-0,4%)
Sources:
WIPO: International Patent Applications Defy 2022 Challenges, Continue Upward Trend
EPO: Innovation stays strong: patent applications in Europe continue to grow in 2022
