Recent trends in the number of invention patent applications
Despite WIPO’s recording the lowest growth rate in the past 13 years, the number of invention patent applications filed in Taiwan continues to grow. In 2022, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) received 50,242 invention patent applications, an annual increase of 2.3%, mainly due to growth of 9.4% to 16.1% in applications from the United States, People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea. By contrast, WIPO received about 278,100 PCT applications with an annual increase of 0.3%, thus marking the lowest growth rate since 2009.
Geographical distribution of resident applications
Most of the resident applications were from the six major municipalities, as well as Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County, accounting for 92.3% in 2022. Applications from Taipei City, New Taipei City, and Hsinchu City collectively accounted for 55.4%, up by 4.7% compared to 2018. Applicants in Hsinchu City filed the most applications (4,455 applications) in 2022, followed by those from Taipei City (3,154 applications) and New Taipei City (3,129 applications).
Top technical fields of invention applications in Taiwan and among WIPO PCT applications
In 2022, the field of “semiconductors” ranked first among invention patent applications filed in Taiwan (accounting for 14.5%), followed by “computing technology” (9.0%). Among published WIPO PCT applications, “computer technology” took the top spot (10.4%), followed by “digital communication” (9.4%). A further comparison shows that “semiconductors” ranked first in Taiwan and tenth in WIPO (accounting for 3.3%), which is a clear indication of Taiwan’s technological advantage in this field. On the contrary, although “digital communication” and “medical technology” claimed two out of the top five spots in WIPO PCT applications, they were not among the top ten technology fields of invention patent applications in Taiwan.
Top filing countries (regions) and respective technical fields in Taiwan and among WIPO PCT applications
In 2022, the TIPO received the largest number of invention patent applications related to “semiconductors” from Taiwan, Japan, the United States, People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea (accounting for 11.7% to 22.5%). German applicants mostly filed invention patent applications in the field of “organic fine chemistry” (10.8%). Regarding WIPO PCT applications, the technology fields with the most applications by country were “computer technology” for applications from People’s Republic of China (15.7%) and the United States (13.1%), “electrical machinery, apparatus, energy” (about 11% each) for applications from Japan and Germany, and “digital communication,” “computer technology” and “electrical machinery, apparatus, energy” (accounting for about 10% to 11% each) for applications from the Republic of Korea.
Leading Applicants in Taiwan and among WIPO PCT applications
In 2022, TSMC filed the most applications (1,534 applications) in Taiwan for the four consecutive years, followed by Applied Materials, Inc. (847 applications, US), Qualcomm Incorporated (763 applications, US) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd (666 applications, KR). At WIPO, Huawei (CN) topped for the sixth consecutive year with 7,689 applications in 2022, followed by Samsung Electronics (4,387 applications, KR) and Qualcomm (3,855 applications, US). Qualcomm (US) and Samsung Electronics (KR) both claimed top ten spots in Taiwan and WIPO.
Major technical fields of applications by top applicants in Taiwan and among WIPO PCT applications
Six of the top ten applicants in Taiwan in 2022, including TSMC, filed most applications in “semiconductors” (accounting for 37.2% ~ 80.6%). On the other hand, six of the top ten WIPO PCT applicants in 2022, including Huawei (CN), filed most applications in “digital communication” (accounting for 26.9% ~ 70.4%).
In comparison, Samsung Electronics (KR) filed mostly in the field of “semiconductors” in Taiwan and mostly in the field of “digital communications” in WIPO, which reveals a significant difference in its patent portfolio. On the other hand, Qualcomm (US) filed the greatest number of applications in “digital communication” both in Taiwan and WIPO, followed by “audio-visual technology” and “telecommunications,” which shows a relatively small difference in patent portfolio.
(Translated from the Hot News announced on the website of the TIPO)
*Section Chief of International Patent Division at Tai E International Patent & Law Office
