The latest statistics issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) showed that China led the world in international patent application volume in 2022.

According to the organization, China filed over 70,000 applications under its Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for patent protection, followed by the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Germany.

Of all the companies, Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies was the top filer, with 7,689 published PCT applications, according to data.

In the education sector, two Chinese universities – Zhejiang University in east China's Zhejiang Province and Soochow University in east China's Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province – came in second and third, respectively. Among the top 10 educational institutions, Suzhou University saw the "sharpest increase," with its number of applications almost doubling since 2021.

According to the WIPO, China accessed its international design registration system last year and came second in filing for protection through the international design system. The organization said with China's accession, the demand for design protection "saw double-digit growth."

Data also showed that the country placed third in filing international trademark applications.

(Cover via CFP)