According to the latest figures from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), China was responsible for around one third of the world’s patent applications in 2013.

“WIPO director general Francis Gurry said: “Strategically, the country is on a journey from ‘made in China’ to ‘created in China,’ and it is moving away from manufacturing to more knowledge-intensive industries.”


Around 2.6 million patents were filed in 2013, and China increased its share of the annual total to 32.1% (from 28% in 2012). The US took second place, with Japan third.

Mr Gurry added: “Global IP filing trends mirror the broader economic picture. The diverging performance of the world economy appears to be leaving its mark on the global innovation landscape.”

Computer technology continued to be the fastest-growing field and now represents 7.6% of the total number of patents filed. The other most popular fields were electrical machinery (7.2% of applications), measurement (4.7%), digital communications (4.5%) and medical technology (4.3%).