New York: China has established a significant lead in generative AI innovations such as chatbots, surpassing its closest competitor, the United States, by filing six times more patents, according to data released by the United Nations on Wednesday.
Generative AI, capable of producing text, images, computer code, and music from existing data, has seen explosive growth with over 50,000 patent applications filed in the past decade, as reported by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which manages a global system for patent recognition.
“This is a booming area this is an area that is growing at increasing speed. And it’s somewhere that we expect to grow even more,” remarked Christopher Harrison, WIPO Patent Analytics Manager, during a press briefing.
Between 2014 and 2023, China filed over 38,000 patents related to GenAI, compared to 6,276 filed by the United States during the same period, WIPO disclosed.
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Harrison highlighted the diverse sectors covered by Chinese patent applications, ranging from autonomous driving to publishing and document management. South Korea, Japan, and India ranked third, fourth, and fifth respectively, with India showing the fastest growth rate, according to the data.
Leading applicants included China’s ByteDance, known for the video app TikTok, Alibaba Group, a major e-commerce player, and Microsoft, which supports OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT.
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“While chatbots are already enhancing customer service across various industries, Generative AI holds potential to revolutionize sectors like science, publishing, transportation, and security,” emphasized Harrison.
“The patent data suggests this is an area that is going to have a profound impact across many different industrial sectors going forward,” Harrison added, citing GenAI’s potential in scientific research, where AI-generated molecules could accelerate drug development.
WIPO anticipates a forthcoming surge in patent filings and plans to update its data, potentially utilizing Generative AI to illustrate future trends.
