In what was a record year for global patent filing, China remains atop the global patent filing standings.
The World Intellectual Property Organization reported that in 2023 global patent applications surpassed the 3.5 million mark for the first time; China was responsible for 1.64 million of those, with the United States (518,364), Japan (414,413), South Korea (287,954) and Germany (133,053) trailing by significant numbers.
China was responsible for 1.58 million patent applications in 2022, covering both domestic and foreign jurisdictions.
“Demand for IP rights is growing even in the face of an uncertain economic environment. In addition, this demand is increasingly indigenous,” said WIPO director general Daren Tang. “For example, the growth in patent filings has been driven by residents inside the countries themselves rather than from foreign innovators. With volume growing, the challenge still remains quality and the ability to translate IP filings into actual products and services.”
Continuing a longer-term trend, offices located in Asia accounted for 68.7, 66.7 and 69 percent of global patent, trademark and industrial design filing activity in 2023. Within Asia, IP filings are highly concentrated, with the offices of China, Japan and South Korea together accounting for 91.1, 77.0 and 87.2 percent of Asian patent, trademark and industrial design filing activity last year.
World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024 found a substantial rise in patent filings by residents of China, South Korea, the U.S., Japan and India, which were the main drivers of global growth in 2023. Applicants based in China filed around 1.64 million patent applications in 2023, covering both domestic and foreign jurisdictions.
An estimated 11.63 million trademark applications covering 15.23 million classes were filed worldwide in 2023. The number of classes specified in applications fell by 2 percent in 2023, marking the second consecutive annual decrease since 2009. The highest volume of filing activity came from applicants based in China with a combined domestic and abroad application class count of around 7.4 million; followed by U.S. applicants (849,876), those based in the Russian Federation (543,692), and applicants from India (496,293) and Germany (441,293).
China applicants also led the pack in global industrial design filings, which saw some 1.19 million industrial design applications worldwide, containing some 1.52 million designs. With 882,807 designs in applications filed, applicants residing in China were the most active in the world in terms of design count in 2023.
As China’s participation in international patent, trademark and, indeed, other forms of intellectual property, continue to increase at a staggering rate, it is no surprise that we have seen a commensurate increase in top-flight IP work being done there. Asia IP asked a large number of professionals – mostly in-house counsel and corporate legal managers – what they were looking for from their legal service providers. From their answers, we have compiled our list of China’s 100 IP Experts, those lawyers who understand just what their clients need and are able to provide them with the best practical advice.
Top-notch individuals are easy to come by in Beijing, Shanghai and in the Greater Bay Area, which includes mainland cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, and are increasingly easy to come by in other regions of the country, as well. While a few large, traditional firms continue to place multiple lawyers on our list, they are increasingly challenged by smaller upstarts, which are often formed by alumni of the older firms, blending the traditions of those firms with a fresher outlook and a, perhaps, more innovative, nimble approach.
Unitalen Attorneys at Law led the list, placing five lawyers in our Top 100. Liu, Shen & Associates, Lung Tin Intellectual Property Agent and NTD Intellectual Property Attorneys each placed four on the list. Four firms had three lawyers on the list: Advance China IP Law Office, Beijing Uni-intel Patent and Trademark Law Firm and Fairsky Law Office.
No other firm placed more than two lawyers on the list, tallying up an impressive total of 60 different law firms represented on our list, demonstrating clearly that while the largest firms might still remain in the lead, that lead may not be as large as they think it is. The upstarts are hot on their heels.
Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice.
All of them have something in common: they are experts in their fields and, in one way or another, they provide extra value for their clients. They are Asia IP’s China IP Experts. – GREGORY GLASS
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