After two years on top of Australian patent filing charts – including a remarkable (by Australian standards) 435 applications in 2020 – Chinese telecommunications manufacturer OPPO dropped back to third position in 2021. The top spot was taken by last year’s runner-up, South Korea’s LG Electronics, which filed 251 new Australian standard patent applications, up from 236 in 2020. China’s Huawei Technologies took second place, with 243 new applications, also increasing its filings, up from 229 in 2020. Huawei now owns nearly 1,300 live Australian patents and applications, which is a significant investment for a company that is effectively barred from the Australian market. It is likely, however, that many of these patents and applications cover standardised mobile and data communications technologies that are implemented across the industry, and which therefore provide Huawei with a substantial stream of licensing income.
The top Australian resident applicant, once again, was electronic gaming system developer Aristocrat Technologies. However, from a peak of 252 applications filed in 2018, Aristocrat’s filings have declined significantly. It filed only 72 new standard patent applications in 2021, falling to equal 21st place in the annual ranking (alongside the University of Texas System). Over the same period, Aristocrat has been engaged in a Federal Court battle with the Australian Patent Office in an effort to establish the patent-eligibility of many of its gaming-related inventions, recently suffering a setback in the form of a loss on appeal to a Full Bench of the Court.
The leading antipodean applicant is now New Zealand’s Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (which is separate these days from the well-known maker of home appliances). Fisher & Paykel Healthcare filed 127 Australian standard patent applications in 2021, up from 94 the previous year, to take 7th place in the rankings. Ironically, the leading filer of New Zealand patent applications in 2021 was Australian medical device manufacturer Resmed, with 142 filings, while Fisher & Paykel Healthcare appears to have no interest in patent protection in its domestic market. Meanwhile, Resmed followed the opposite trans-Tasman strategy, filing just 25 applications in its home market of Australia.
No other Australian (or New Zealand) applicant appeared in the top 30 filers for 2021. The next highest Australian applicant, after Aristocrat, was the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), with 48 applications, followed by NewSouth Innovations (the University of New South Wales’ commercialisation arm) on 29. The Australian top five was rounded out by Breville (26) and Resmed (25).
The top three filers of provisional applications were CSIRO (56), Resmed (51), and NewSouth Innovations (47).
Innovation patent filings were dominated, in the final few months of full operation of the system, by Chinese and Indian applicants, of which the top two were China’s Qingdao Agricultural University, and the delightfully-named Lovely Professional University in India. The leading ‘credible’ filers of innovation patent applications in 2021 were US-based Calerpillar Inc (31 filings), agricultural chemical developer Imtrade Australia (26 filings), and Australian radio technology company Benelec (14 filings).
Read on for full tables of the leading filers for each application type.
Top Standard Patent Applicants
The table below lists the top 30 applicants for Australian standard patents, from all countries of origin.
Rank | Applicant Name | Country | Filings |
---|---|---|---|
1 | LG ELECTRONICS INC | KR | 251 |
2 | HUAWEI TECH LTD | CN | 243 |
3 | GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMS LTD | CN | 194 |
4 | APPLE INC | US | 150 |
5 | SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE SA | CH | 146 |
6 | CITRIX SYSTEMS INC | US | 135 |
7 | FISHER & PAYKEL HEALTHCARE LTD | NZ | 127 |
8 | BECTON DICKINSON & CO | US | 116 |
9 | NICOVENTURES TRADING LTD | GB | 114 |
10 | REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS INC | US | 113 |
11 | HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES INC | US | 111 |
12 | NOVARTIS AG | CH | 107 |
13 | UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA | US | 103 |
=14 | QUALCOMM INC | US | 99 |
=14 | ILLUMINA INC | US | 99 |
16 | DEERE & CO | US | 95 |
=17 | F HOFFMAN LA ROCHE AG | CH | 84 |
=17 | AMGEN INC | US | 84 |
19 | CATERPILLAR INC | US | 82 |
20 | COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO | US | 75 |
=21 | ARISTOCRAT TECH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | AU | 72 |
=21 | THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM | US | 72 |
23 | WL GORE & ASSOCIATES INC | US | 71 |
24 | BASF SE | DE | 69 |
=25 | SENSETIME INTL PTE LTD | SG | 66 |
=25 | GOOGLE INC | US | 66 |
=27 | TENCENT AMERICA LLC | US | 64 |
=27 | BOEING CO | US | 64 |
29 | BAYER AG | DE | 61 |
30 | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SCIMED INC | US | 60 |
Leading Australian-Resident Standard Patent Applicants
The following table lists the top Australian applicants for standard patents. Only Aristocrat, on 72 filings, also appears in the previous table of overall leaders. The next Australian entrant, CSIRO, placed equal-47th on the main rankings, along with Belgium’s Janssen Pharmeceutica NV. It is good to see Australian ‘unicorn’ Canva – which managed to achieve a valuation exceeding a billion dollars without much regard for protecting its patentable IP – appearing on this list. Canva has also been expanding its patent portfolio elsewhere, most notably in the US.
Rank | Australian Applicant Name | Filings |
---|---|---|
1 | ARISTOCRAT TECH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | 72 |
2 | COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION (CSIRO) | 48 |
3 | NEWSOUTH INNOVATIONS PTY LTD | 29 |
4 | BREVILLE PTY LTD | 26 |
5 | RESMED LTD | 25 |
6 | MONASH UNIVERSITY | 21 |
7 | UNIQUEST PTY LTD | 19 |
=8 | CANVA PTY LTD | 18 |
=8 | UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY | 18 |
10 | GRAND PERFORMANCE ONLINE PTY LTD | 17 |
11 | SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | 15 |
=12 | UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE | 14 |
=12 | TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES PTY LTD | 14 |
14 | CHEP TECH PTY LTD | 12 |
=15 | XARD GROUP PTY LTD | 10 |
=15 | AGRICULTURE VICTORIA SERVICES PTY LTD | 10 |
=15 | IP RESERVE PTY LTD | 10 |
=18 | GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY | 9 |
=18 | ADAMA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | 9 |
=18 | ILUKA RESOURCES LTD | 9 |
=18 | AUSTRALIAN NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECH ORGANISATION | 9 |
=18 | FASTBRICK IP PTY LTD | 9 |
=18 | COUNCIL OF THE QUEENSLAND INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH | 9 |
Top Provisional Applicants
The table below lists the top 20 filers of provisional applications in 2021. Almost all provisional applicants are Australian. The only ‘fully’ foreign applicant on the list is New Zealand’s Fonterra Cooperative Group, at equal-20th position. Cloud accounting software provider Xero, placed equal-16th, is also a New Zealand company, but it has a presence in Australia, and has filed its applications as an Australian resident. (Unlike some other patent offices, and the international PCT system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization, IP Australia’s public data does not separately identify an applicant’s countries of nationality and residence.)
The list includes the usual selection of prolific individual filers. There are a few of these each year (though not always the same ones). Rarely, if ever, do any of their applications proceed beyond the provisional stage.
Rank | Applicant Name | Country | Filings |
---|---|---|---|
1 | COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION (CSIRO) | AU | 56 |
2 | RESMED LTD | AU | 51 |
3 | NEWSOUTH INNOVATIONS PTY LTD | AU | 47 |
=4 | MONASH UNIVERSITY | AU | 46 |
=4 | ANTHONY JOHN SCOLARO | AU | 46 |
6 | UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY | AU | 34 |
7 | UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE | AU | 31 |
8 | DOT DESIGN GROUP PTY LTD | AU | 30 |
9 | UNIQUEST PTY LTD | AU | 25 |
10 | BREVILLE PTY LTD | AU | 20 |
11 | UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE | AU | 17 |
12 | AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY | AU | 14 |
=13 | RMIT UNIVERSITY | AU | 13 |
=13 | SALUDA MEDICAL PTY LTD | AU | 13 |
=13 | NORMAN L MATTHEWS | AU | 13 |
=16 | UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA | AU | 12 |
=16 | WALTER & ELIZA HALL INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH | AU | 12 |
=16 | XERO LTD | AU | 12 |
=16 | JULIANNE MARY CRIPPS CLARK | AU | 12 |
=20 | FONTERRA COOPERATIVE GROUP LTD | NZ | 11 |
=20 | SOUTH EASTERN SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT | AU | 11 |
Top Innovation Patent Applicants
The following table lists the top 20 applicants for innovation patents. As expected, the list is dominated by Chinese and Indian applicants. I find the number of ostensibly reputable organisations (i.e. universities and research institutes) surprising, although I probably should not. (Yes, the Lovely Professional University is a real place, which claims to be the 36th ranked university in India, based on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022.) At first glance, the only genuine users of the innovation patent system on this list are Caterpillar and Imtrade Australia.
Rank | Applicant Name | Country | Filings |
---|---|---|---|
1 | QINGDAO AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY | CN | 131 |
2 | LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY | IN | 82 |
3 | XUZHOU UNIVERSITY OF TECH | CN | 79 |
4 | HINDUSTAN INSTITUTE OF TECH & SCIENCE | IN | 53 |
5 | SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY | CN | 44 |
=6 | SHANGHAI OCEAN UNIVERSITY | CN | 35 |
=6 | PRASUN DR CHAKRABARTI | IN | 35 |
=8 | QILU UNIVERSITY OF TECH | CN | 33 |
=8 | SHENZHEN THOUSANDSHORES TECH LTD | CN | 33 |
10 | QINGDAO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECH | CN | 32 |
=11 | SICHUAN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY | CN | 31 |
=11 | CATERPILLAR INC | US | 31 |
13 | HUAZHONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECH | CN | 30 |
14 | CHINA RAILWAY 18TH BUREAU GROUP LTD | CN | 28 |
=15 | DR VISHWANATH KARAD MIT WORLD PEACE UNIVERSITY | IN | 26 |
=15 | YESHWANTRAO CHAVAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING | IN | 26 |
=15 | DATTA MEGHE INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES | IN | 26 |
=15 | IMTRADE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | AU | 26 |
=19 | MANIPAL UNIVERSITY JAIPUR | IN | 25 |
=19 | CHINA RAILWAY 18 BUREAU GROUP LTD | CN | 25 |
Leading Australian-Resident Innovation Patent Applicants
The final table below lists the top Australian applicants for innovation patents. Once foreign applicants are filtered out, it is apparent that the main Australian users of the system are the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that it was intended to support. Some of the companies appearing on this list were among those that made or contributed to submissions in support of the innovation patent system when its fate was being debated. It is fitting that they have continued to make use of the system up to the end of its full operation. Some will no doubt continue to file divisional innovation patent applications based upon filings made prior to 26 August 2021 over the coming months and years, although presumably not in the same numbers.
Rank | Applicant Name | Innovation Filings |
---|---|---|
1 | IMTRADE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | 26 |
2 | BENELEC PTY LTD | 14 |
=3 | TAO HONG | 9 |
=3 | NAGARAJU DOMMARAJUKRISHNAMARAJU | 9 |
=5 | GROWPLAY PTY LTD | 8 |
=5 | MARK ANDREW FRASER | 8 |
=7 | MICROBIAL SCREENING TECH PTY LTD | 7 |
=7 | LEASEN STEEL INTL PTY LTD | 7 |
=7 | SENSEN NETWORKS GROUP PTY LTD | 7 |
=10 | AME SYSTEMS VIC PTY LTD | 6 |
=10 | GREENTECH INTL PTY LTD | 6 |
=10 | DATT FINTECH INNOVATIONS PTY LTD | 6 |
=10 | ADAMA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD | 6 |
=10 | BBOX FOR KIDS DEVELOPMENTS PTY LTD | 6 |
=15 | INFRABUILD WIRE PTY LTD | 5 |
=15 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS PTY LTD | 5 |
=15 | MATHEW RAYMUND NORTON | 5 |
=15 | POWERPAL PTY LTD | 5 |
=15 | SAYFA R & D PTY LTD | 5 |
=15 | TAG 360 PTY LTD | 5 |
=15 | TRENT BRIDGE VIC ENGINEERING PTY LTD | 5 | =15 | BUZZWORKS PTY LTD | 5 |
=15 | WEI HONG | 5 |
=15 | RUDDER TECH PTY LTD | 5 |
=15 | KEVIN JASON WATSON | 5 |
=15 | MOTH DIAGNOSTICS | 5 |