The Japan Patent Office released its 2024 annual report, revealing new trends in patent applications.

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) released its annual report on patent applications in July of this year. This annual report, which differs from the annual status report, primarily covers domestic and international trends, as well as various measures taken by the JPO.

Based on this year's report, we can understand the following key points:

• The number of patent and design applications in 2024 increased compared to the previous year.
• The number of trademark applications decreased compared to 2023.
• The grant rate for patent applications submitted in 2019 was 60.7%, which is consistent with the upward trend in recent years.
• The grant rates for design and trademark applications reviewed in 2024 were 89.4% and 88.4% respectively, an increase from the previous year.
• In fiscal year 2024, the time from application review to issuance of the first office opinion was 9.1 months, and the time from application review to obtaining a patent right was an average of 13 months, both of which were shorter than in fiscal year 2023.