(Yicai Global) Oct. 16 -- Chinese companies applied for more than 1.5 million patents in 2018, setting a record high and making up some 46.4 percent of the worldwide total, according to data from the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The number of filings from China was up 11.6 percent on the year, the WIPO said online today. The global figure rose 5.2 percent to 3.3 million to rise for the ninth straight year with the top five patent offices making up 85.3 percent of all applications. Some 597,141 came from the US, 313,567 from Japan, 209,992 from South Korea and 174,397 from the European Patent Office.

Asia led the way by a significant margin, contributing to 66.8 percent of all filings, up from 50.8 percent in 2008 thanks to economic growth in China.

The US remained the leader in overseas filings, submitting 230,085 international applications. Japan sent 206,739, Germany 106,753, South Korea 69,459 and China 66,429.

There were some 14 million valid patents worldwide last year, up 6.7 percent annually. The US had the most at 3.1 million, China had 2.4 million and Japan had 2.1 million.

Chinese firms also applied for trademarks covering 7.4 million categories and 708,799 industrial design applications last year, both ranking first worldwide and making up 50 percent of their global totals.

Editor: James Boynton