Key findings of the data:
- US remained the leading individual country for applications in 2018.
- However, on a regional basis, Asia's surge continued. More than half of all international patent applications filed last year came from Asia, a further sign of innovation shifting from west to east.
- WIPO's complex system of registering international patents involves multiple categories.
- In the main category-the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the US led the way with 56,142 applications, followed by China (53,345) and Japan (49,702).
- India registered the largest innovation jump of any country last year. Patent applications jumped more than 27 per cent from 1,583 in 2017 up to 2,013.
