CNIPA Releases Global Digital Economy Patent Report

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recently released the "Global Report on Patents Related to Core Industries of Digital Economy (2024)", which analyses the granting and validity status of invention patents related to core industries of digital economy in the world and in China in 2023, as well as provides the trend of invention patent granting from 2016 to 2023.

"Core industries of digital economy", according to the report, refer to industries that provide digital technologies, products, services, infrastructure and solutions for the digital development of the industry, as well as various economic activities that are completely dependent on digital technologies and data elements. Examples of digital-economy core industries included in the report include electronic components and equipment manufacturing, software development, intelligent equipment manufacturing, communications and radar equipment manufacturing, internet platforms, and information technology services.

From the perspective of technology source, in 2023, the top five countries by number of global invention patent grants in core industries of digital economy were China (418,000), the United States (151,000), Japan (123,000), South Korea (87,000), and Germany (24,000). Among them, China had the fastest year-on-year growth rate of 19.3%.

Globally, the number of invention patents granted in core industries of digital economy amounted to 888,000 in 2023, up 11.7% year-on-year and 5.8% higher than in 2016. As of the end of 2023, the number of valid invention patents related to core industries of digital economy was 6.524 million.

As for China, the number of invention patents granted in core industries of digital economy in 2023 was 406,000, up 21.2% year-on-year and 13.5% higher than in 2016. Among them, 359,000, or 88.5% of the total, were granted to domestic applicants, and 47,000, or 11.5%, to foreign applicants. As of the end of 2023, the number of valid invention patents related to core industries of digital economy in China was 1.953 million. From 2016 to 2023, the average annual growth rate of invention patent grants in core industries of digital economy in China was 18.5%.

As of the end of 2023, 93 countries/regions held 351,000 invention patents related to core industries of digital economy in China, with the top five by number of patents held being Japan (115,000), the United States (101,000), South Korea (43,000), Germany (24,000), and the Cayman Islands (12,000).