China leads global patent race, followed by US: WIPO report
AI is fueling a worldwide boom in patent filings.
In 2025, international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) rose to about 275,900, driven mostly by tech innovation and big bets on artificial intelligence.
A small number of leading origins accounted for a large share of these filings.
Top 5 companies driving patent applications
China was the top source of PCT applications in 2025, with 73,718 applications, followed by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
On the company front, Huawei topped global filings in 2025 with 7,523 applications.
Samsung, Qualcomm and LG Electronics were the next top filers (per the 2025 data); the source does not list CATL among the top five patent filers, showing how major tech players are racing to secure their ideas.
International PCT applications in 2025
In 2025, international PCT applications rose to 275,900 (up 0.7%).
China filed more PCT applications than the US (73,718 vs. 52,617).