China is on its way to becoming the world leader in international patent filings, and should overtake the top spot from the United States within three years, the UN said Wednesday. But it was the rapid growth in international patent filings from China, which passed Japan to reach second place, that drove the global increase, WIPO said. China, the only country to record double-digit growth in its patent applications in 2017, has posted growth higher than 10% every year since 2003. “At current trends, (China) is projected to overtake the US within three years as the largest source of applications filed under WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty,” the agency said. “This is part of a larger shift in the geography of innovation, with half of all international patent applications now originating in East Asia,” he added.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 21, 2018 13:07 UTC