The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has published its Status Report 2025. In this article, we provide a brief overview of trends in Japanese IP filings by region, based on data from the report. All graphs referenced below are taken directly from the JPO Status Report 2025.
Patent Applications
Number of patent applications in 2024: 306,855
‐National phase entries from PCT applications: 72,888
‐Patent applications excluding PCT national phase entries: 233,967
The total number of patent applications in 2024 increased by approximately 6,700 compared to 2023, marking the second consecutive year of growth. Notably, domestic patent applications (excluding PCT national phase entries) rose by about 9,000.
Applicant Nationality Trends
Excluding Japanese applicants, the top countries filing patent applications in Japan are:
1. United States
2. China
3. South Korea
4. Germany
Most foreign-originating Japanese patent applications are filed via the PCT route. Compared to other countries, U.S. and Korean applicants tend to rely more on direct Paris Convention filings.
Trends in Japanese SMEs’ Patent Filings
Patent applications filed by Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exceeded 40,000 in 2023.
Utility Model Applications
Number of utility model applications in 2024: 4,655
Utility model filings have been steadily declining in recent years.
Requests for Technical Opinion on Utility Models
The number of requests for technical opinion (required for enforcement) has also continued to decrease. Since utility model rights are registered without substantive examination, requesting the technical opinion from the JPO is essential for enforcement. This trend reflects a general decline in enforcement activity for utility models.
Design Applications
Number of design applications in 2024: 32,065
While the number of domestic design applications has remained relatively flat, the number of international design applications (filed under the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, designating Japan and registered/published by WIPO) has been steadily increasing.
Trademark Applications
Number of trademark applications in 2024: 158,792
Trademark application numbers have been declining since peaking in 2017. Notably, filings by Japanese SMEs have been decreasing since 2019.
Examination Trends
The following trends can be seen in patent filings, registrations, and grant rates (based on the year of application):
The grant rate has been gradually increasing, recently reaching about 60%.
In 2024, the success rate for appeals against final rejections (excluding those registered before the appeal decision) was 78%. In recent years, this success rate has consistently remained in the high 70% range.
Opposition Filings
Trends in opposition filings for both patents and trademarks are shown below.
Invalidation Trials
In recent years, approximately 100 requests for invalidation trials have been filed annually for both patents and trademarks. However, in 2024, the number of patent invalidation trial requests rose to 186.
Examination Timelines
Patents
- First Action (FA) period* under Super Accelerated Examination: 0.6 months
- FA period under Accelerated Examination: 2.1 months
- FA period under Standard Examination: 9.4 months
- Average time from examination request to grant: 13.8 months
*”FA period” means average number of months from examination request to first office action.
Designs
- FA period under Accelerated Examination: 2.0 months
- FA period under Standard Examination: 6.0 months
- Average time from filing to grant: 6.8 months
Trademarks
- FA period under Accelerated Examination: 1.8 months
- FA period under Standard Examination: 6.1 months
- Average time from filing to grant: 7.3 months
For both design and trademark filings, you can generally expect examination results in about six months, and registration within approximately seven months.
Source
https://www.jpo.go.jp/resources/report/statusreport/2025/index.html
