GENEVA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- International patent applications are on the rise, according to a new report released this week by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Applications filed through WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) rose by 0.7 percent in 2025 to reach 275,900 filings worldwide, marking a second consecutive year of growth, the Organization said in a press report on Friday.
This increase was partly due to robust activity in ICT-related fields, with digital communication remaining the top category (11.1 percent) of published PCT applications, while semiconductors recorded one of the fastest growth rates among all leading areas of international patents. These trends reflect the continued rise of digital technologies as an engine of innovative activity and economic development, with increasing investments in and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) helping to fuel this growth.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang said: "International patent filings - particularly in digital communication and semiconductor technologies - reflect how digital technologies continue to drive the global innovation landscape. AI is the latest engine of this growth and will increasingly transform how we innovate."
Other prominent fields include computer technology (9.6 percent), electrical machinery (9.0 percent), medical technology (6.3 percent) and pharmaceuticals (4.3 percent). Along with digital communications, these fields represented just over 40 percent of all published PCT applications. Among the top 10 technology fields, digital communication (+6.1 percent) and semiconductors (+6.1 percent) saw the fastest growth rates in 2025.
China contributed the most applications (73,718), expanding its activity by 5.3 percent. Meanwhile, the United States (U.S.) submitted 52,617 applications, followed by Japan with 47,922, the Republic of Korea with 25,016 and Germany with 16,441.
Huawei Technologies maintained the position of top filer, which it has held since 2017, with 7,523 published applications in 2025. Samsung Electronics filed 4,698 applications, followed by Qualcomm (3,227), LG Electronics (2,400) and Contemporary Amperex Technology (2,203). Among the top 100 filing organizations, 32 were Japanese, 24 Chinese and 17 from the U.S.
In the education sector, the University of California retained its top position in 2025, with 488 published PCT applications. It was followed by Tsinghua University with 227 applications, the University of Texas System with 226, Stanford University with 179, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with 170. ■
