China Maintains Global Lead in PCT Paten

China Maintains Global Lead in PCT Patent Applications in July 2025 Amidst a 10.5% YoY Decline

 

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patent application data for July 2025 on October 10, showing that driven by China's performance, the year-on-year growth rate of global PCT patent applications turned negative in that month, with 22,244 applications filed worldwide, down 3.8% YoY—a 12.5-percentage-point drop from the previous month and a 17.3-percentage-point decrease compared to the same month last year, while the cumulative global PCT patent applications from January to July 2025 reached 153,501, a slight 0.6% YoY increase; excluding China, global PCT patent applications in July 2025 stood at 16,927, down 1.4% YoY, and the cumulative applications from January to July totaled 113,940, a 2.0% YoY decrease. Among the top five countries in terms of PCT patent applications in July 2025, only South Korea and Germany saw positive YoY growth, while China, the United States, and Japan experienced declines, and for the January-July period, the U.S., Japan, and Germany all posted negative growth, leaving only China and South Korea with positive growth: China filed 5,317 PCT patent applications in July 2025, a 10.5% YoY decrease, with its global share dropping from 25.71% in the same period last year to 23.90% (a 1.80-percentage-point decline) but still retaining the top global ranking, and its cumulative PCT applications from January to July reached 39,561, up 8.8% YoY, with its global share rising to 25.77% (an increase of 1.96 percentage points from the previous year), while data from China's National Intellectual Property Administration shows that in July, the number of domestic PCT patent applications accepted in China was 5,229 (down 11.3% YoY), from January to July this figure hit 39,103 (up 8.7% YoY), and in August 2025, China's domestic accepted PCT applications were 5,529 (down 16.4% YoY) with the cumulative total from January to August reaching 44,632 (up 4.8% YoY); the U.S. filed 4,055 PCT applications in July 2025, a 3.6% YoY decrease, with its global share edging up from 18.20% to 18.23% (a 0.03-percentage-point increase) to rank second globally, and its cumulative applications from January to July were 29,862, down 5.1% YoY, with its global share falling to 19.45% (a 1.16-percentage-point drop) while remaining in second place; Japan submitted 3,888 PCT applications in July 2025, a 0.7% YoY decrease, with its global share rising from 16.94% to 17.48% (a 0.54-percentage-point gain) to secure third place, and its cumulative applications from January to July were 28,407, down 0.8% YoY, with its global share declining to 18.51% (a 0.25-percentage-point drop) while staying in third; South Korea filed 2,254 PCT applications in July 2025, a 2.8% YoY increase, with its global share climbing from 9.48% to 10.13% (a 0.65-percentage-point rise) to rank fourth, and its cumulative applications from January to July reached 12,788, up 4.4% YoY, with its global share rising to 8.33% (a 0.31-percentage-point increase) while maintaining fourth place; Germany had 1,549 PCT applications in July 2025, a 2.0% YoY growth, with its global share increasing from 6.57% to 6.96% (a 0.39-percentage-point gain) to rank fifth, and its cumulative applications from January to July were 9,380, down 3.4% YoY, with its global share falling to 6.11% (a 0.25-percentage-point drop) while remaining fifth. In July 2025, regions outside the top five accounted for 5,181 PCT applications, a 2.9% YoY decrease, with their global share rising from 23.10% to 23.29% (a 0.20-percentage-point increase), and from January to July, these regions had 33,503 cumulative applications, down 2.1% YoY, with their global share dropping from 22.43% to 21.83% (a 0.60-percentage-point decline); key trends for other major countries include France with 700 applications in July (down 6.8% YoY) and 4,272 cumulative applications (down 2.4% YoY) from Jan-Jul, the UK with 512 applications in July (down 6.2% YoY) and 3,485 cumulative applications (up 0.3% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Switzerland with 461 applications in July (down 3.4% YoY) and 2,730 cumulative applications (down 9.9% YoY) from Jan-Jul, the Netherlands with 359 applications in July (down 11.8% YoY) and 2,365 cumulative applications (down 0.4% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Sweden with 224 applications in July (up 6.7% YoY) and 2,145 cumulative applications (down 6.3% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Italy with 344 applications in July (up 7.8% YoY) and 2,020 cumulative applications (up 12.8% YoY) from Jan-Jul, India with 291 applications in July (down 48.0% YoY) and 1,674 cumulative applications (down 36.2% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Finland with 278 applications in July (up 129.8% YoY) and 1,614 cumulative applications (up 46.6% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Canada with 158 applications in July (down 17.7% YoY) and 1,407 cumulative applications (up 2.2% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Singapore with 137 applications in July (down 0.7% YoY) and 1,373 cumulative applications (up 28.2% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Russia with 50 applications in July (down 39.8% YoY) and 371 cumulative applications (down 10.2% YoY) from Jan-Jul, Brazil with 82 applications in July (up 51.9% YoY) and 339 cumulative applications (down 4.2% YoY) from Jan-Jul, South Africa with 28 applications in July (up 75.0% YoY) and 109 cumulative applications (up 5.8% YoY) from Jan-Jul, and Vietnam with 2 applications in July (down 50.0% YoY) and 11 cumulative applications (down 26.7% YoY) from Jan-Jul.