• Decline in patent activity due to slowdown of global economy
• Asian companies such as Samsung, LG and Huawei lead patenting activity
• Majority patent filings are in AI, 5G, and industrial automation themes

Global patent filings declined by almost 14% year-on-year (YoY) to over 771,000 in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, mainly due to a 13% drop in filings from China, reveals GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s patents landscape quarterly report, ‘Patent Statistics and Analysis Q2 2022’, highlights the key patent filings and grants trends YoY in Q2. Patent grants too saw a sharp 46% decrease to 1143,000, with China registering a 3% decline. In addition, China’s utility model has decreased by 2% YoY, particularly due to the enhanced scrutiny during the official evaluation stage.

Darshana Naranje, Senior Patents Analyst of Disruptive Tech at GlobalData, comments: “The fall in patenting activity in China may be due to the government’s determined efforts to restructure the country’s patent incentive structures and focus on quality rather than quantity. Eliminating all the current patent subsidies is one such measure, which may be the reason for the declining patent activity.”

The top patent filers including Samsung, Huawei, and LG have seen a significant decline during the quarter. For instance, Samsung, which saw a 41% increase in Q1 2021, was able to record only 1% increase in Q2 2022. Similar declines were seen in the quarter for Huawei (32% to 5%) and LG (1% to -6%).

Rohit Singh, Project Manager at GlobalData, comments: “The decline in the patenting activity from the top filers can be attributed to the slowdown of the global economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, companies may struggle to apply for patents and pay maintenance fees.”

The major contribution in patent filings came from the US, Europe (EP), and United Kingdom (GB) patent offices. For instance, most of the patents filed in the US and EP are on digitization, industrial automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) while Asian companies like Samsung, LG, and Huawei were the leading filers at both patent offices. Most of the patents received by the GB patent office focused on AI, industrial automation, and climate change, with IBM, Halliburton, and Dyson among the top filers.

Naranje concludes: “Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global geopolitical tensions have increased, pushing up inflation, which is anticipated to have an impact on the patenting activity in the upcoming quarters. In addition, new amendments and fee adjustments from various patent offices may also have an impact on the future patent filing trends.

“For instance, changes to the South Korean Patent Act such as the new separation application system, extension of the deadline for appealing a final rejection, simplification of the priority claim process for divisional applications, and the relaxation of the standards for the restoration of patent rights, may affect the country’s patent filing activity.”