The number of applications for invention patents continues to grow in Taiwan. In 2022, 50,242 invention patents were filed in Taiwan, an increase of 2.3% due to surging growth between 9.4-16.1% in applications from the US, Mainland China and Korea. On the other hand, WIPO accepted approx. 278,100 PCT applications, marking the slowest increase of 0.3% in 13 years since 2009.

Resident applications were mostly from the 6 major municipalities, as well as Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County, accounting for 92.3% of all invention patent applications filed in 2022. Applications from the top 3 cities (Taipei, New Taipei, and Hsinchu) collectively accounted for 55.4%, up by 4.7 percentage points compared to 2018. Applicants residing in Hsinchu City (4,455) filed the most applications in 2022, followed by applicants from Taipei City (3,154) and New Taipei City (3,129).

In 2022, the field of semiconductors (with a share of 14.5%) had the most invention patent applications in Taiwan, followed by computer technology; computer technology claimed top spot (10.4%) in published WIPO PCT applications, followed by digital communication (9.4%).

A further comparison reveals that the top ranking field in Taiwan, “semiconductors,” ranked tenth (accounting for 3.3%) at WIPO. This demonstrates Taiwan’s prowess and advantage in semiconductors. However, although “digital communication” and “medical technology” claimed two out of the top five spots in WIPO PCT applications, they were not among Taiwan's top ten technology fields of invention applications.

Top filing countries (regions) mostly filed invention applications in “semiconductors” in Taiwan. In 2022, Taiwan received the largest number of applications in “semiconductors” from Taiwan, Japan, the US, Mainland China, and Korea (from 11.7% to 22.5%). Germany filed mostly in organic fine chemistry (10.8%).

WIPO statistics reveals that applications from top filing countries were primarily in “computer technology,” “digital communication,” and “electrical machinery, apparatus, energy”. Mainland China (15.7%) and the US (13.1%) filed more applications in “computer technology.” Japan and Germany filed extensive patents in “electrical machinery, apparatus, energy” (approximately 11%). Korea filed mostly in “digital communication,” “computer technology” and “electrical machinery, apparatus, energy” (10%~11%).

TSMC led in the number of invention patent application filings in Taiwan. For the fourth consecutive year, TSMC (1,534) filed the most applications in Taiwan in 2022, followed by Applied Materials (847, US), Qualcomm (763, US) and Samsung Electronics (666, KR). At WIPO, Huawei topped for the sixth consecutive year with 7,689 cases in 2022, followed by Samsung Electronics (4,387, KR) and Qualcomm (3,855, US); the latter two both claimed top 10 spots in Taiwan as well.

“Semiconductors” accounted for most number of applications among the top 10 applicants in Taiwan. Six of the top 10 applicants in 2022 filed most applications in “semiconductors” in applications filed in 2019-2021, including TSMC (37.2% ~ 80.6%). On the other hand, six of the top 10 WIPO PCT applicants in 2022 had the most applications in “digital communication” (26.9% ~ 70.4%), including Huawei (CN).

In comparison, Samsung Electronics (KR) filed mostly for “semiconductors” in Taiwan, and primarily for “digital communications” in WIPO – showing significant differences in their 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,” exhibiting the smallest difference in patent portfolio.

• Publish Date : 2023-10-11
• Update : 2023-10-11
• Organization : International Legal Affairs Office
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