China leads the world in generative AI patent filings, with over 38,000 applications between 2014 and 2023, significantly outpacing the United States and other countries, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. This rapid growth in generative AI patents, which span various sectors, highlights the technology’s potential to transform numerous industries.
3 July 2024 – China is significantly ahead in generative AI innovations, filing six times more patents than its closest competitor, the United States, according to data released by the United Nations on Wednesday. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which manages the global patent recognition system, reported that over 50,000 generative AI patent applications have been filed in the past decade, with a quarter of these filed in 2023 alone.
Generative AI, which can create text, images, computer code, and even music from existing data, is experiencing rapid growth. “This is a booming area that is growing at increasing speed, and we expect it to grow even more,” said Christopher Harrison, WIPO’s Patent Analytics Manager.
From 2014 to 2023, China filed more than 38,000 generative AI patents, compared to 6,276 by the United States. These Chinese patents span various sectors, including autonomous driving, publishing, and document management. South Korea, Japan, and India ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, with India showing the fastest growth rate.
Leading applicants include China’s ByteDance, owner of TikTok, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, and Microsoft, which backs OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. Generative AI, already widely used in customer service by retailers, has the potential to revolutionize many economic sectors, including science, publishing, transportation, and security. Harrison emphasized the significant impact on the scientific sector, where GenAI-created molecules could expedite drug development.
WIPO anticipates a new wave of patent filings soon and plans to release updated data, possibly using generative AI to illustrate the trend.
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