Japan, USA and China are the patent world champions
Patents are one of the most important characteristics of market leadership. They indicate innovative strength and safeguard knowledge and markets.
But who are the companies with the most patents in the world – and where do the individual countries stand? PatentSight recently published a list of the top 300 patent applicants from around the world. The company regularly compiles a global patent ranking and uses it to create the Patent Asset Index™.
This, in turn, is one of 26 scoring values used to evaluate companies.
No wonder, since the number of new patent applications represents the innovative strength of the individual company, which in turn influences customer confidence, creditworthiness and investor propensity.
And the result? Well, Japan is the undisputed leader with 96 companies ranked among the top 300 patent holders worldwide. It is followed by the USA with 79 companies and China with 40 companies. In fourth place with 40 companies, Germany is the first European country, followed by France (12), South Korea (11) and the Netherlands (9). The top 10 is rounded off by Switzerland (7), Taiwan (6) and the UK (4 companies) in eighth, ninth and tenth place.
All in all, things don’t look quite so bad for European companies. However, it is also clear that Asian companies are absolute leaders in innovation and patent registration and will continue to defend this successful position with all their might.
China’s relentless race to catch up impressively shows that the Middle Kingdom – as one of many Asian countries – has long since ceased to be merely the extended workbench of the West, but is catching up with the Europeans and Americans in more and more areas. Thus, it is only a matter of time before catching up could turn into overtaking. It therefore remains exciting!
Top 10 countries with the most patent world champions:
1. Japan (96 companies)
2. USA (79)
3. China (40)
4. Germany (23)
5. France (12)
6. South Korea (11)
7. Netherlands (9)
8. Switzerland (7)
9. Taiwan (6)
10. Great Britain (4)
