Patent trends and the continuing strength of the Australian health tech sector

Broader trends[4]

Standard patent applications and grants in Australia, 2016 to 2025

(Applications fell slightly) In 2025, 30,348 standard patent applications were filed in Australia, compared to the 30,478 filed in 2024 (–0.5%). This represents a 3.8% decrease over two years from 31,530 in 2023 and a 6.4% decrease from the high in 2021 of 32,410. The 2021 peak reflected a post-pandemic surge, with patent filings reaching record levels during COVID-19 when R&D activity, particularly in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, accelerated in response to the global health crisis. The subsequent decline represents what IP Australia describes as ‘normalisation rather than contraction’.

(Grants rose moderately) IP Australia granted 19,555 standard patents in 2025, up 1.4% from 19,276 in 2024. That represents consistent but moderate growth after the 23.8% spike in 2023, when the highest number of patents were granted since 2017, helped in part by applicants bringing forward examination requests to avoid the application of the Raising the Bar reforms that were introduced in 2013.

The report also notes the significant finding that the grant of a first patent is associated with 43% higher income and 14.6% total factor productivity.

Resident vs non-resident filings

(Modest growth in domestic filings) Australian residents filed 2,810 standard applications in 2025, up 9.0% from 2,578 in 2024, and up 12.6% from the post-pandemic low of 2,496 in 2022. Share of total filings rose to 9.3% — the highest since 2021.[5]

IP Australia suggests that the growth in resident filings was ‘less concentrated among large institutions and globally-oriented technology firms, and more distributed across a wider set of domestic applicants’, and was driven primarily by repeat filers rather than new entrants.[6]

A notable feature of 2025’s leading domestic filers (led by Aristocrat again) was the reduced prominence of public research organisations and universities.

(International rebalancing) Foreign (non-resident) filings declined slightly by 1.3% to 27,538, and their share declined modestly to 90.7%.[7]

US filings fell 5.0%, continuing a longer-term easing, but the US still remained the leading jurisdiction for standard patent applications in Australia at 40.8% of filings.[8]

Applications from China were the second-largest at 9.7%, with filings up 13.4%, a marked acceleration from the prior year’s 5.2% growth. China’s growth reflects ongoing expansion in applied and industrial technologies.[9]

The overall picture is one of continued international rebalancing: US share is declining, China is growing, and a number of smaller but high-growth economies are increasing in share.

Standard patent applications in Australia by residency, 2016 to 2025

Leading overseas locations of origin for standard patent applications in 2025, and origins with high growth or decline

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) vs direct filings

Australian filings entering national phase fell to 66.7% in 2025, down from the post-pandemic high of 71.9% in 2022, with national phase entry steadily declining in that same period. Non-PCT Australian filings meanwhile rose steadily from 8,578 in 2022 to 10,100 in 2025, an increase of 17.7%.

The shift partly reflects that US filings are more likely to be PCT applications while Australian and Chinese applicants tend to file directly.[10]

Interestingly, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) reported earlier this year that global PCT filings had seen a modest increase of 0.7% to 275,900 in 2025. This is still a decrease from the post-pandemic high of 277,643 in 2022.

WIPO highlighted this relative stagnation of PCT filings in its 2025 report that noted ‘the global economic environment has become more challenging for PCT applicants’ since 2020. With the ‘pandemic’s aftermath, supply chain disruptions, and inflation and high interest rates, alongside geopolitical tensions, new industrial policies and the phasing out of patent subsidies for Chinese applicants’, it may also ‘signal a naturally maturing PCT System with a reduced growth potential.’

Standard patent applications in Australia by filing route, 2016 to 2025

Trend in filings of PCT applications, 2015–2025

Cross-border collaboration: a new data point[11]

For the first time, the 2026 report measures cross-border collaboration in patent applications — that is, applicants from different countries.

(Transnational collaboration decreased in 2025) Collaborative filings fell from 1,525 in 2024 to 1,297 (nearly –15%) in 2025, even as total filings declined less than 1%. The share of collaborative filings fell from 4.9% to 4.2%. The decline was concentrated among filings from the US, Switzerland and the UK (together accounting for approximately 70% of the reduction).

(Australia-linked collaboration proved comparatively resilient) The number of foreign-origin applications including at least one Australian applicant increased from 115 to 120.

The report characterises these patterns as consistent with ‘growing fragmentation in global science and innovation networks’ and highlights the importance of ‘targeted international cooperation’ as ‘global innovation networks adjust to geoeconomic conditions.’

Australians filing overseas[12]

(Australian applicants appear to be moderating broad PCT-based geographic expansion) Australians filed 8,091 patent applications overseas in 2024, down 6.6% from 8,659 in 2023, which is the second consecutive year of decline.

The US remains the dominant destination (3,099 applications, broadly stable), while filings at the European Patent Office fell materially (down 9.8% to 919 applications). Filings in Canada declined sharply, so much so that it has dropped out of the top 5 destinations and been replaced by New Zealand.

The PCT share of outward filings fell further to 60.4% (from 64.7% in 2023, and from over 70% in earlier years).

Australian applicants appear to be becoming more selective about where they apply for overseas protection. For businesses developing international filing strategies, this trend suggests a shift toward targeted protection in key markets rather than aiming for wide geographic coverage.

Global patent trends

A 2025 Global Trends & Insights report from IFI Claims Patent Services, which looked at the top 250 largest patent holders in the world, measured by active patent families, indicates:

• (Chinese entities continue to dominate global patent ownership) IFI’s report reveals that Chinese entities hold seven of the top ten spots (including four of the top five), led by the State Grid Corp of China (SGCC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Gree Electric Appliances. South Korea’s Samsung is third with more than 106,000 active patent families. Canon and Panasonic keep Japan in the top ten. The highest-ranking US company is IBM, 20th globally.
• (Climate & sustainability tech) Innovation surrounding climate change mitigation — such as smart grids, energy storage, greenhouse gas reduction, and energy efficiency — are major focus areas for top patent holders, particularly for Chinese entities like State Grid Corp of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences.
• (Regional divides) While the leading technologies in the US appear to be wireless communications and digital data transmission, European innovation centres on electrical digital data processing, health diagnostics, automotive control devices and batteries. Across Asia, the dominant technology areas are electrical digital data processing, greenhouse gas reduction, wireless networking and ‘pictorial communications’ such as imaging and display technologies. In South Korea, Samsung holds the top spot in all five leading technology areas. In Japan, semiconductors represent the leading technology.

Provisional patent filing

(The 2024 sign of things to come) In IP Australia’s previous annual report, it was noted that the number of provisional patents filed in 2024 totalled 4,344, up 2.4% on 2023 levels, which represented a second consecutive year of growth and reversal of a negative trend in the preceding decade. Applications from Australian residents increased by 2.7% (to 4,009), while non-resident filings fell by 1.8% (to 335).

(A dramatic increase in provisional filings) Provisional applications surged 58.1% in 2025, which IP Australia characterises as ‘one of the clearest structural shifts.’ The ratio of standard to provisional applications nearly halved: approximately 4.4 standard applications were filed for each provisional in 2025, compared to 7:1 in 2024.[13]

(Why the shifts?) IP Australia attributes these shifts to reduced entry costs and faster drafting and search capability enabled by digital tools, including AI systems. The previous report did not identify these dynamics, although it did note that the conversion rate from provisional to standard complete applications had improved over the past decade, that could reflect an ‘increasingly efficient ability of applicants to triage new discoveries for patent protection and hence manage costs in the process.’[14]

(What this increase means) Whatever the reasons, the rise in provisional filing represents a broadening engagement with the patent system. However, the surge in provisional filings by new and self-represented applicants raises questions about application quality. IP Australia has flagged challenges relating to high volumes of speculative filings, increased demands on examination resources, and questions around disclosure quality and inventorship.

For businesses that depend on patent portfolios for competitive advantage, this trend warrants attention.

Patent examination efficiency proposals

IP Australia is taking steps to improve examination efficiency. In March 2026, IP Australia published a consultation paper proposing reforms to simplify and streamline regulatory and administrative processes. Key proposals include:

• shorter, staged response windows for examination reports;
• implementing a more structured examination report response system with set timeframes and limits on the number of responses permitted before rejection procedures commence; and
• giving third parties greater powers to intervene in the patent application process to obtain earlier certainty on claim scope.

We will continue to keep an eye on these proposals as they progress.

Disputes

Australian Patent Office (APO)

The number of decisions published by the APO continued to decline in 2025 down to 41, the lowest number since 2010. Interestingly, at the same time, the number of cases managed by the APO increased by 12.5% to 144. We will watch to see if the increase in cases translates to an increase in published decisions.

The 135 oppositions continue to dominate cases managed by the APO, the highest number since 2018. We note that this rise aligns with two key recent trends we noted above:

• the looming ‘patent cliffs’ and the increase in commercial stakes in life sciences, with owners having strong incentives to challenge patents and assert their own to protect their valuable assets, and
• the maturing of the Raising the Bar reforms — as more patents granted under the post-reform standards come through the system, competitors may be more confident in identifying and challenging patents that are more vulnerable to attack.
  

Australian Patent Office cases and decisions 2010-2025

Delegates are raising invalidity grounds

A notable procedural trend has emerged in Australian patent opposition proceedings. Research published by IPKat indicates that Delegates are increasingly invoking their discretion under section 60(3) of the Patents Act to raise grounds of opposition not raised by the parties.[15]

Since January 2024, this discretion has been exercised in approximately 14% of opposition proceedings — a seven-fold increase from the roughly 2% between 2016 and 2023. Delegate-raised grounds were made out in around 73% of cases in which they were raised and were determinative of the outcome in around 44%.

It is suggested the increase is linked to the higher standards introduced in the Raising the Bar reforms.

Federal Court of Australia

The number of patent cases in the Federal Court has remained relatively stable since 2022, with 82 cases heard in 2025. This compares to an average of 123.5 cases heard between 2015 and 2020, which each recording 100+ cases heard.

In 2025, the number patent actions decided by the Federal Court (whether by a single judge or the Full Court) declined by 24.1% to 66. This continues the downward trend since 2018 when 142 patent cases were decided (a 53.5% decline). This compares to an average of 86.4 cases for the years 2021-2025.

Number of patent cases before the Federal Court of Australia 2015-2025