China Poised to Overtake US in International Patent Filings

摘要

The U.S. continues to lead the world in international patent applications, but China is quickly catching up. U.S. applicants filed 56,595 applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, according to data released March 16 by the World IP Organization, the U.N. body that oversees the system. Japan was second, with 45,239, and China was a close third, with 43,168. China has seen double-digit annual growth in applications since 2002, with a 44.7 percent increase in 2016. If the trend continues, it will overtake the U.S. in 2019, according to the WIPO report.