On November 12, 2025, WIPO published its latest annual report on global intellectual property indicators—*World Intellectual Property Indicators 2025* (WIPI 2025)—in which the number of intellectual property (IP) applications worldwide reached record levels.
Some of the most notable figures:
- Patent applications saw strong growth: 3.7 million applications, a 4.9% increase compared to 2023. This marks the fifth consecutive year of growth.
- Applications for industrial designs also increased: by 2.2%, to approximately 1.6 million.
- As for trademarks, the trend has stabilized after two years of decline: the global total remained virtually unchanged, with 15.2 million classes applied for in 2024 (a change of –0.1%).
These figures demonstrate the enduring importance of intellectual property as a driver of economic growth and innovation, especially in a competitive global environment.
A Special Focus on Patents: Indicators of Global Innovation
We would like to highlight the patent data from WIPI 2025 and its significance as an indicator of innovation. The long-term trend has been consistently upward, as shown in the graph. However, between 2010 and 2024, applications nearly doubled, rising from 2 million to 3.7 million.
This all-time high of 3.7 million patent applications worldwide is driven primarily by increases in applications in countries such as China, India, the Republic of Korea, and Japan. The graph shows how, for years, the United States was the leading patent filing office. In the 1970s, Japan experienced rapid growth; however, since the 2000s, the trend has been downward. China has surpassed the European Patent Office and now receives the largest number of applications worldwide.
But let's take a closer look at the requests:
- International applications for “unique inventions” (that is, “original” patents, not divisions or variations) doubled between 2008 and 2022.
- As for technology sectors, in 2023 (the most recent year for which detailed data is available), computer technology accounted for the largest share of applications— 13.2% of the total —followed by electrical machinery, measurement, digital communication, and medical technology.
- In particular, over the past decade, the fields that have seen the most growth have been computer science (+10.3%), and digital measurement and communication have also grown significantly.
- Another key indicator: the total number of active patents worldwide rose to approximately 19.7 million in 2024, a 6% increase from the previous year.
These data confirm that innovation—as measured by the patent applications it has generated—continues to expand globally, and that technological transition, particularly in fields such as computer science, digitization, and medical technology, remains a key driver of innovation.
What about Spain? What we know from its patents
In 2024, Spain filed 8,282 patent applications, representing a 1% increase over the previous year. With that figure, Spain ranked 24th worldwide according to the WIPO Innovation Indicator.
In terms of trademark applications, Spain posted better results, ranking 16th with a total of 136,476 in 2024—a 5.3% increase from 2023.
In short, the strong growth in industrial property applications in 2024—and especially in patents—reaffirms that innovation remains a global priority, and that companies, researchers, and entrepreneurs continue to view IP protection as a strategic tool for competitiveness.
Juan de Justo, European Patent Agent in the Patent Department at ELZABURU