KOREA FOUNDATION

Korea Ranked Fourth in PCT Applications for Three Years in a Row

In 2022, Korea ranked fourth in the world in patent applications for the third consecutive year. Despite multiple crises, the country filed 22,012 applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Korea moved up 6.2 percent from the previous year, registering the highest growth among the top 10 countries. Two Korean firms made it to the top 10 in the “Top PCT Applicants” list, with Samsung Electronics in second place and LG Electronics in ninth.

Last year, a total of 278,100 applications were filed under the PCT, a 0.3 percent increase from 2021. With 70,015 applications China topped the ranking for the fourth year running, followed by the United States with 59,056, and Japan with 50,345 applications. The number of applications from the US represented a 0.6 percent decrease from the previous year, whereas those of China, Japan, and Germany slightly increased by 0.6 percent, 0.1 percent, and 1.5 percent, respectively.

PCT ApplicationsWorld Intellectual Property OrganizationWIPOKorea