China reaches 5th in WIPO patent rankings

In a comprehensive report, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ranked China fifth in the global rankings of patent applications. Over the past 10 years, China has recorded a sevenfold increase in patent filings.

Japan topped the patent table, followed by the US, South Korea and the European Patent Office. The report indicates that patent filings have increased in line with economic growth over the past 20 years, with the number of annual applications worldwide remaining below one million in the first 10 years, but growing in the following decade at an average rate of 4.75% a year.