TIPO statistics report on patent and trademark applications filed in 2024

　TIPO released the statistics report of patent and trademark applications in 2024.  According to the report, the number of applications for three kinds of patents has maintained modest growth over the past three years, reaching 72,742 in 2024, roughly on par with 2023.  Among these applications, 50,823 were filed for invention patents, reflecting a marginal decrease compared to 2023 but still maintaining solid momentum.  On the contrary, the applications for utility model patents rebounded to 14,559 filings, while the design patent applications sustained growth with 7,360 filings.  Meanwhile, trademark registration applications totaled 90,341 cases, with the rate of decline slowing down.  On the other hand, as a result of TIPO’s sustained efforts to elevate examination capacity, the average first action pendency was 8.4 months for invention patent applications and 6.1 months for trademark applications, down by 0.5 and 0.1 months, respectively, compared to 2023.  These improvements assist enterprises in securing rights for industrial arrangements as soon as possible.  

1.  Domestic enterprises’ patent portfolio for invention and utility model patents become more flexible, while the number of academic and research institutes applications largely increased.  

　Resident invention patent applications totaled 19,586, slightly decreased by 0.2% compared to 2023, while utility model patent applications marginally rose by 0.2% to 13,341.  A breakdown of applicants shows that enterprises’ invention patent applications declined by 1% but their utility model filings increased by 3%, which indicates a more flexible patent strategy.  On the other hand, academic and research institutes experienced a 3%~8% growth in invention patent applications and also a 13%~57% surge in utility model applications, which reflects the continued growth in patent deployment by the industry-academia collaboration.  In the meantime, there were a total of 3,338 design patent applications filed, down by 3%, which was mainly attributable to the drop in the filings from schools, while it is noticeable that the design patent filings from enterprises rebounded by 5%.  

2.  Japan stayed on top for the non-resident filings for invention and design patents 

　Non-resident applicants had filed a total of 31,237 invention patent applications throughout 2024, which marked a slight rise of 0.1%, with Japan still leading with 12,307 applications, surpassing the U.S. with 6,817 applications, China with 3,472 applications, South Korea with 3,365 applications, and Germany with 1,035 applications, among which South Korea reached a record high.  Analysis of these filing countries’ growth shows that South Korea and Germany each experienced a growth rate of 8% and the U.S. also saw its 1% growth.  However, Japan and China each had a decline by 2% and 9%, respectively.  

　In addition, non-resident applications for design patents increased by 4% to 4,022 cases in 2024.  Japan also topped this ranking with 880 applications, followed by the U.S. with 772 applications, China with 755 applications, Switzerland with 370 applications, and Germany with 241 applications.  China’s growth remarkably surged to 61%, while Germany improved by 1%.  On the contrary, Japan, the U.S., and Switzerland fell by 6%, respectively.  

3.  Decline of trademark registration applications slowed down to 1% 

　Trademark applications totaled 90,341 cases (covering 112,534 classes), down by 1% (or 2% by class).  The rate of decline eased compared to 2023 when a 3% decrease occurred.  The fall was mainly attributable to a 4% fall in resident applications to 69,386 cases.  In contrast, non-resident applications climbed by 7% to 20,955 cases, returning to positive growth.   

　Among the top five foreign filing countries (regions), China outstripped other countries with 5,624 filings, ahead Japan with 3,397 filings, the U.S. with 2,822 filings, South Korea with 1,919 filings, and Hong Kong with 1,277 filings. Except for the U.S. seeing a 3% drop, the other four countries’ applications jumped by 13%~28%.  

4.  Uni-President retained no. 1 ranking as the top domestic corporate applicant for six straight years, while Tencent Holdings led as the top foreign corporate applicant again.

　Uni-President remained as the top domestic corporate trademark applicant for the sixth year in a row, with 709 applications in 2024.  MOMO.COM Inc. ranked No. 2 with 216 applications.  WU, Ruo-Mei and the other top five applicants filed trademarks in or related to religious temples.  As to foreign corporate applicants, Tencent Holdings stick to the top position with 146 applications, trailed by L’Oreal of France with 86 applications and Japan-based Kao with 81 applications.  

　With respect to the classes the resident trademark applications, Class 35 (advertising, business management, and retail/wholesale services) recorded the highest number of 13,407 applications.  Among the top 10 classes, only Class 3 (cosmetics and cleaning products, etc.) saw a growth by 2.2%, while Class 5 (pharmaceuticals) and Class 42 (scientific and technological services) had growth rates between -0.3%~0.3%.  All other classes decreased at the rates between 1.8% to 10.6%.  

　As to the non-resident applications, most of them were filed in Class 9 (computer and technology) to reach 3,848 applications.  Among the top 10 classes of non-resident applications, Class 3 (cosmetics and cleaning products, etc.), Class 25 (clothing, footwear, etc.), Class 18 (leather and synthetic leather, luggage) all experienced double-digit growth between 12.2%~15.4%.  On the contrary, Class 5 (pharmaceuticals) and Class 42 (scientific and technological services) fell by 3.7% and 9,8%, respectively.  

5.  Continued optimization of patent/trademark examination pendency supports industrial deployment.

　TIPO has been committed to enhancing patent and trademark examination capacity by continuously optimizing its review system, search efficiency, and workforce allocation.  As a result of the sustained improvement, the average first action pendency in 2024 was 8.4 months for invention patent applications, down by 0.5 month compared to 2023, with the number of pending applications being 52,712 cases.  On the other hand, the average first action pendency for trademark applications was shortened by 0.1 month to 6.1 months, and the number of pending applications decreased to 52,860 cases.  These improvements help businesses secure trademark or patent rights earlier and strengthen their industrial planning in the market.  (Released 2025.02.10)  
/CCS