High-tech innovation
International comparison of PCT patents in advanced technologies
—
2025 incomplete: some of the PCT applications filed in 2025 are not yet published in RegPat (August 2026 edition). Patent counts for 2025 will be revised upward; shares are less affected. The year 2024 is almost complete: it still lacks about 7% of applications, which explains part of its apparent decline.
About this tracker
This dashboard tracks inventive activity in high-technology sectors through international patent filings (PCT). It measures the contribution of each country and region to key technologies (AI, biotechnology, information technology, green technologies and semiconductors) since the 1980s.
Author
This tracker is developed by Antonin Bergeaud — HEC Paris, LSE, CEPR.
Methodology
Source data
The patents analyzed are international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The data are extracted from Google Patents Public Data via BigQuery. The PCT covers filings in more than 150 member countries and is a reliable indicator of international inventive activity.
Fractional counting
Each patent is attributed to its inventors’ countries fractionally using the OECD RegPat database. If a patent has 3 inventors (2 in France, 1 in Germany), France receives 2/3 of the patent and Germany 1/3. This method avoids double counting and reflects each country’s actual contribution.
Technology classification
| Sector | System | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Biotechnology | IPC | OECD definition (2009) |
| Information technology | IPC | Inaba & Squicciarini (2017) |
| Artificial intelligence | CPC | Neural networks, machine learning |
| Green technologies | CPC | EPO classification, climate change |
| Semiconductors | CPC | Semiconductor devices (H10, which takes over H01L since the 2023-2026 CPC reforms) |
| Pharmaceuticals | IPC | Medical preparations |
| Nanotechnology | IPC | OECD definition (2009) |
| Robotics | IPC | Manipulators and robots |
| Batteries | CPC | Secondary cells |
| Additive manufacturing | CPC | 3D printing |
Geographic entities
- EU-27 : The 27 current member states of the European Union (post-Brexit)
- Europe : EU-27 + Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom
- United States, China, Japan : individual countries
- Rest of the world : All other countries (the composition varies with the EU/Europe mode selected)
Shares are computed on the world total (including all entities). The 5 entities sum to 100% each year.
Data sources
- Google Patents Public Data : PCT publications (WO) with IPC and CPC classifications
- OECD RegPat (August 2026 edition): Inventor register with fractional geographic attribution
- IPC classification : International Patent Classification (WIPO)
- CPC classification : Cooperative Patent Classification (EPO/USPTO)
References
- OECD (2009). OECD Patent Statistics Manual. OECD Publishing. DOI
- Schmoch, U. (2008). “Concept of a Technology Classification for Country Comparisons.” Final report to WIPO.
- Inaba, T. & Squicciarini, M. (2017). “ICT: A new taxonomy based on the international patent classification.” OECD STI Working Papers, 2017/01.
- WIPO (2019). WIPO Technology Trends 2019: Artificial Intelligence. Geneva: WIPO.
- Fujii, H. & Managi, S. (2018). “Trends and priority shifts in artificial intelligence technology invention.” Economics Letters, 171, 188-191.
- Haščič, I. & Migotto, M. (2015). “Measuring environmental innovation using patent data.” OECD Environment Working Papers, No. 89.
- Veefkind, V. et al. (2012). “A new EPO classification scheme for climate change mitigation technologies.” World Patent Information, 34(2), 106-111.
- Graetz, G. & Michaels, G. (2018). “Robots at Work.” Review of Economics and Statistics, 100(5), 753-768.
- EPO/EUIPO (2020). Patents and Additive Manufacturing: Trends in 3D Printing Technologies. Munich: EPO.
- OECD (2009). “Nanotechnology: An Overview Based on Indicators and Statistics.” OECD STI Working Papers, 2009/07.
Update
Data as of October 1, 2026: PCT applications extracted from Google Patents on October 1, 2026 and RegPat (OECD) of August 2026. The tracker is updated after each new RegPat edition. The last year shown (2025) is incomplete.