Patent applications by nonresidents — all countries

Patent applications by nonresidents — High-income countries

Patent applications by nonresidents in high-income countries in 2021 — 614,590 filings. Since 2016, the indicator has risen by 9.4%.

2021 614,590 filings +3.69% vs 2020
World rank
Period maximum 614,590 filings2021
Period minimum 561,546 filings2016

Trend over time

2016–2021 · applications

Patent applications by nonresidents — High-income countries, 2016–2021560,000580,000600,000620,0002016201720182019202020212016: 561,546 filings2017: 566,483 filings2018: 573,132 filings2019: 603,055 filings2020: 592,710 filings2021: 614,590 filings
Change over the period: +53,044 (+9.45%) Average annual rate: 1.82 %

Comparison, 2021

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: High-income countries

High-income countries 614,590 filings
World 1.02M filings
Patent applications by nonresidents — High-income countries, by year High-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year filings Change Change, %
2021 614,590 +21,880 +3.69%
2020 592,710 −10,345 −1.72%
2019 603,055 +29,923 +5.22%
2018 573,132 +6,649 +1.17%
2017 566,483 +4,937 +0.88%
2016 561,546

About the indicator

The number of patent applications filed in a country by nonresident applicants. The indicator measures not the inventive activity of the country but the value of its market: a patent has force only where it is granted, so foreign companies file where they intend to sell or where they fear copying. The ratio to applications by residents splits countries into those that invent and those where others file.

Important: A measure of the appeal of a market, not of innovativeness. An application is not a patent: some applications are rejected, and the share of rejections differs across countries.

Source: IP Statistics (WIPO), license CC BY 3.0 IGO.