According to a report by intellectual property law firm Mattis & Squire, the number of semiconductor-related patent applications filed in China will sharply increase from 2023 to 2024, and Tianxia currently far exceeds the United States in terms of the number of applications filed. There is. This comes as the number of Chinese semiconductor companies dwindles and the United States and some allies impose major restrictions on the country’s microelectronics sector.
The number of semiconductor patent applications worldwide increased significantly by 22% from the previous year from March 2023 to March 2024, reaching 80,892. This growth is being driven by the rapid expansion of AI technology and increased R&D investment in basic semiconductor production, particularly in China.
“Gen-AI is an emerging technology that is driving research and development in the semiconductor industry, leading to an associated increase in patent filings,” said Edd Cavanna, partner at Mathys & Squire. “This likely indicates an escalation of the conflict between the United States and China in the semiconductor patent field.”
China saw a dramatic 42% increase in patent applications, with the number of applications increasing from 32,840 in 2022-2023 to 46,591 in 2023-2024. Meanwhile, the U.S. recorded a smaller but still significant 9% increase in semiconductor applications, according to the report. The number of patent applications increased from 19,507 to 21,269 over the same period. This information is not particularly surprising, as it is consistent with the World Intellectual Property Organization, which claims that Chinese companies generally file more patent applications than US companies: 69,610 vs. 55,678. . Huawei filed for 6,494 patents last year, leading the world.
Mattis & Squire attributes the number of patent applications to China’s strategic response to U.S. semiconductor export restrictions. The Chinese government is also promoting technological advancements such as microelectronics to strengthen domestic industry.
However, since the US began imposing sanctions on China’s semiconductor sector in 2019-2020, the number of Chinese semiconductor companies has steadily declined, and the slowdown in chip demand could lead to further economic stagnation in 2022-2023. It got worse.
More than 22,000 chip companies have closed since 2019, and 2023 was a record year, with 10,900 companies losing their registrations. This is almost double the 5,746 business closures in 2022. This means that an average of 30 Chinese chip companies will close down every day by 2023. Nevertheless, the number of patent applications filed in China is increasing. What remains to be seen is whether this will make Chinese-designed microelectronics (particularly CPUs and GPUs) more competitive.
