Collecting data and writing Inside Green Innovation: Progress Report - Third Edition

When it comes to technology, ‘green innovation’ can be defined in a number of ways. Most broadly, green innovation can be any technology aimed at limiting negative environmental impact created by human activity. This could include technologies that help eliminate pollution, use resources more sustainably, handle waste more responsibly, recycle materials effectively, or offer an alternative to fossil fuels.

In line with this broad definition, there are many technologies we could have explored in this third edition of our annual report. As in previous editions, this report focuses on technologies being produced to address what are widely accepted as some of the most pressing challenges facing us today: reducing use of traditional plastics, controlling carbon emissions, developing sustainable energy sources, and producing nutritious food, sustainably, for a growing population. These topics also align to the OECD and United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and many innovations are included in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Green Innovation Database, a global innovation catalogue that connects needs for solving environmental or climate change problems with sustainable solutions.

Data and datasets

Our patent activity insights are based, in part, on data from PatBase, a patent data and analytics platform, in combination with industry assessments and our experience as patent attorneys. The search criteria were developed using combinations of keywords and classifications. Varying filters were applied to the datasets during analysis, to pull out points of interest, in combination with the application of patent attorney judgement and the assessment of individual patent filings.

This report emphasises trends and specific points of interest. The objective was not to achieve exhaustive filing statistics for subject areas or assignees.

Due to an 18-month delay from filing to publication of a patent application, a full dataset for 2022 was not available at the time of publishing this year’s report. As such, unless indicated otherwise, this report includes data through 31 December 2021.

Patent data as a barometer of innovation

It is common for innovators to patent an invention where it has potential commercial value, that can be protected by a patent. There should, therefore, be a strong correlation between patent filing trends and meaningful technical progress. However, at times, inventors are encouraged to file patents for other, non-commercial reasons.

For example, governments may implement policies that reward patent filing in the country, for reasons such as tax benefits or cash payments for the applicant. Cultural pressures can also encourage inventors to file patents to enhance their academic or institutional reputation. Of these, the offer of a significant cash payment for the filing of a patent application is the most likely to break the link between patent filing activity and meaningful technological progress.

In view of this complexity, the correlation between patent filing trends and meaningful progress in innovation should be taken as a general guide only. It is not possible to account for all of these additional considerations within the datasets, and we have not excluded any data for these reasons – with one exception.

Over the previous decade, government policy in China has led to lump sum payments being offered to domestic applicants who file a Chinese patent application, with a further payment available for achieving a granted Chinese patent. This policy correlates with globally unprecedented levels of patent filing activity in China. Across all sectors, the number of year-on-year patent filings originating in China is on average more than double the number originating in the rest of the world, combined. An unusually high proportion of these filings do not extend beyond China, and many applications have unusually narrow claims. Although it is difficult to assess, in view of these indicators it appears likely that many China-originating filings may have been driven by these state-offered cash incentives, rather than the normal commercial drivers outlined above.

For these reasons, unless indicated otherwise, we have not included China-only patent filings in the datasets. However, where a China-originating patent application includes at least one family member outside of China, the application was included in the dataset.

On 27 January 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced that financial assistance for filing patent applications would cease as of June 2021. It was also announced that financial support for granted patents would be phased out over five years, coming to an end in 2025.

After this announcement, in 2021 the number of new patent applications originating from China plateaued. A seven-year trend, where new applications increased by twenty percent, on average, each year since 2014 (aside from a notable dip in 2019), ended. The slowdown in new patent applications originating from China in 2021 could of course be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than changes to incentivisation policies, so it will be interesting to see the effect of this change in policy over the longer term.