Recently, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) 2025, aiming to help innovators, enterprises, policymakers, and other stakeholders monitor the latest trends in global intellectual property activity. 

Based on statistical data from approximately 150 national and regional IP offices worldwide, WIPI provides a comprehensive overview of global filing trends in patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and other intellectual property areas. 

1. Invention patent applications

 The main driving force of growth in 2024 was China (1,795,715), making an increase of 153,072 applications compared to 2023, followed by the United States (501,831), Japan (419,132), the Republic of Korea (295,722), and Germany (133,485). 

2. Trademark applications

 The Trademark Office of China National Intellectual Property Administration maintained its position as the world’s most active office in terms of trademark applications, with approximately 7.3 million categories filed by domestic and foreign applicants, followed by the United States (836,457), the Russian Federation (559,436), India (532,900), and Brazil (436,291). 

3. Industrial design applications

Global industrial design applications increased by 2.2% in 2024, reaching 1.6 million. Chinese applicants ranked first globally with 906,849 applications, followed by Germany (70,212), the United States (66,855), Italy (63,668), and South Korea (60,109).

From Way Insight International Intellectual Property

January 6th, 2026