China overtakes Japan as No. 2 patent filer

March 22, 2018

Tokyo- China overtook Japan as the world's second largest filer of international patents last year, the United Nations said Wednesday.

The number of patent applications filed by Chinese applicants under the Patent Cooperation Treaty last year surged 13.4 percent from the previous year to 48,882, the World Intellectual Property Organization said.

Japan ranked third, with 48,208 applications, up 6.6 percent. The United States maintained its top position, with 56,624 applications, up 0.1 percent.

"This rapid rise in Chinese use of the international patent system shows that innovators there are increasingly looking outward, seeking to spread their original ideas into new markets as the Chinese economy continues its rapid transformation," WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry said.

At its current pace, China "is projected to overtake the United States within three years as the largest source of applications," the agency said.

By company, Chinese telecommunications equipment makers Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. came top and second, respectively, followed by US chip giant Intel Corp. and Japanese electronics maker Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Jiji Press