China has been ranked first in the number of international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) for five consecutive years, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director-General Daren Tang said at the ongoing World Congress of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), which has been held in Hangzhou, China, since October 19.
In his video message, Tang stressed that the congress, which is being held in China for the first time, is an important milestone. When China joined the WIPO PCT in the mid-1990s, only about 100 international patent applications were filed annually. But by 2023, that number had risen to around 70,000.
AIPPI President Shoichi Okuyama also said that the number of patent applications in China has been increasing rapidly in recent years, indicating significant progress in scientific and technological innovation in the country.
China has become the first nation in the world to surpass the 4 million mark for valid domestic invention patents, and its patent applications through the PCT, design patents and international trademarks are among the highest in the world. The Congress takes place from 20 to 22 October and attracts approximately 2,300 experts from 92 countries and regions.
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