Trend and comparison between WIPO PCT applications and TIPO invention patent applications in 2023

　TIPO released the trend analysis of and comparison between Taiwan invention patent applications and WIPO PCT applications filed throughout 2023 on October 24, 2024.  According to the analysis report, WIPO received about 272,600 PCT invention patent applications in 2023, which marked a 1.8% year-on-year decline and put an end to the consecutive 13-year growth streak.  On the contrary, TIPO received a total of 50,854 applications to see a 1.2% increase.  

　The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established to promote and protect intellectual property rights across the world.  Applicants around the world may file a single invention patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to seek patent protection simultaneously in a large number of the PCT contracting states.  

　1.  The top technical fields for the invention patent applications filed with the WIPO and with TIPO in 2023 were “Computer Technology” and “Semiconductors”, respectively.  

　The top three technical fields for the WIPO PCT applications were “Computer Technology” with a share of 10.2%, ahead of the field of “Digital Communication” with a share of 9.4% and “Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Energy” with a share of 7.9%.  For the applications filed with the TIPO, the top field of “Semiconductors” accounted for 15% of all invention patent applications, surpassing the field of “Computer Technology” with a share of 9.1% and “Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Energy” with a share of 6.1%.  The WIPO aggregates and categorizes invention patent applications into 35 technical fields.  Among them, the field of “Computer Technology” includes computing technologies, such as, AI and cloud computing, and “Digital Communication” encompasses wire, wireless, and image-based digital communication technologies, such as, 5G/6G communications and satellite communications.  Moreover, the field of “Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, Energy” covers devices and technologies, including lighting, basic electronic components, electrical energy storage, electric power generation and distribution, while the field of “Semiconductors” includes semiconductor devices, processes, and technologies.  

　As to the primary countries’ (regions’) focus technical fields for WIPO patent filings, China led in the field of “Digital Communication” with a share of 15.6%, while the U.S. dominated in the field of “Computing Technology” with a share of 12.9%.  Japan and Germany filed mostly for the field of “Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Energy” with shares of 11.3% and 11.8%, respectively, and South Korea placed equal focus on the fields of “Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Energy” and “Digital Communication” with shares of 11.2% for both fields.  As to TIPO patent filings, Taiwan, China, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea all prioritized the field of “Semiconductors”, with shares ranging from 12.5% to 25.7%.  

　2.  Huawei has been the top filer for WIPO PCT applications for the 7^th consecutive year, while TSMC has been the most active filer for TIPO patent applications.  

　Among the top 10 applicants of WIPO patent publications, China-based Huawei took the lead for the 7^th consecutive year with 6,494 applications, trailed by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics with 3,924 filings, the U.S.’s Qualcomm with 3,410 filings.  For TIPO patent applications, TSMC has beat global peers for five straight years by filing 1,582 applications, surpassing Applied Materials with 794 applications, Samsung Electronics with 747 applications, and Qualcomm with 695 applications.  It is noticeable that both Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm claimed a spot in the top 10 rankings of the WIPO and TIPO patent filings.  

　3.  Among the top ten applicants of WIPO patent filings, most actively focused on "Digital Communication," while for TIPO patent filings, the top ten applicants primarily concentrated on "Semiconductors."  

　According to the breakdown of the technical fields of the applications filed by the top 10 WIPO PCT applicants, six of the top 10 applicants, including China’s Huawei, placed their emphasis on the field of “Digital Communication”.  Huawei’s filings for “Digital Communication” accounted for 41.8% of its total applications, more than 22.7% filings for “Computing Technology”, and 9.5% filings for “Telecommunications”, which collectively comprised its combined share of 74.0%.  Different from Huawei, six of the top 10 applicants of TIPO patent filings, including TSMC, prioritized the field of “Semiconductors”, and TSMC’s filings took up the highest share of filings in this field, at 78.1%.  

　Samsung Electronics displayed different priorities in its filings with the WIPO and TIPO, with “Digital Communication” being the top field for its WIPO patent filings and with “Semiconductors” dominating its filings with the TIPO.  Qualcomm, however, maintained its consistent strategy, with “Digital Communication” as the top field for both its filings with the WIPO and the TIPO, to reflect minimal variation in its patent filing strategy.  

　4.  The combined filings from Taipei-Hsinchu of Taiwan accounted for 72.4% of all resident applications, while Taipei-Hsinchu ranked as the 37^th largest science and technology cluster globally in 2023 

　Hsinchu City set an all-time high record for invention patent applications with 4,842 filings with the TIPO in 2023, followed by Taipei City (with 3,058 filings) and New Taipei City (with 2,989 filings).  The combined filings from Taipei-Hsinchu accounted for 72.4% of all resident filings.  Besides, according to WIPO statistics for the past five years, Taipei-Hsinchu have retained a spot among the top 50 S&T clusters and secured the 37^th position from 2019 through 2023 for the WIPO patent filings.  (Released 2024.10.24)  
/CCS