Australian IP report 2025
Technology fields
Patents are assigned to technology classes, so provide a useful indicator of the rate of inventive activity and trade across technology fields.1 In Australia, the life sciences dominate other fields for the number of standard patent filings received each year (Figure 2.4).
Figure 2.4 Top 5 technology fields for volume of standard patent filings in 2024, and high-volume fields with the greatest relative growth and decline in 20242
In 2024, a downward correction was observed in pharmaceutical and medical technology patents, from elevated levels during the COVID-19 shock. Biotechnology was an exception, with 4.7% more filings in this field than during 2023.
The patent growth in biotechnology was sourced from across geographic regions including the United States (biotechnology patent filings +2.5%), China, (+15.8%), France (+9.0%), Switzerland (+3.0%) and Australia (+31.7%). The patent growth likely reflects growing demand for biotechnology solutions. Increasingly central to healthcare, biotechnology also has applications across sectors including agriculture, industrial processes and environmental sustainability. Australian industry revenue for biotechnology is forecast to climb to 3.9% annualised growth over the 5 years to 2030.3
In May 2024 a landmark Treaty was agreed among members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which will increase transparency around the use of genetic resources (GR) and associated traditional knowledge (TK) in patent applications.
The new Treaty creates a framework that requires patent applicants to disclose the source of GR and associated TK relied on in an invention. By supporting increased recognition and tracking of GR and TK across new patent applications, the Treaty may facilitate greater collaboration and benefit sharing between traditional custodians and other innovators.
The new Treaty will enter into force when 15 Member States accede to or ratify it. Treaty ratification in Australia requires various steps including consideration by parliament.
This is the first WIPO treaty to cover the intersection between Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge. You can find out more from IP Australia’s website and WIPO.
Domestic applicants
Effective patent laws encourage businesses to transfer technology into a country and inward foreign direct investment (FDI).4 At the same time, the patent system promotes domestic investment in innovation and technology upgrading by local firms, which can further facilitate international trade.
Australian residents file most of their domestic patents in civil engineering (13.5%) and medical technology (7.9%). However, biotechnology and computer technology are the fields where Australian innovators have most rapidly increased their share of domestic filings over the past 3 years. With Australian biotechnology patent filings up by 31.7% in 2024, this likely reflects the reported strengthening of Australia’s industry and global partnerships.5
International applicants
US applicants file most of their standard patent applications in pharmaceuticals, medical technology and biotechnology. Together these account for nearly half (43.2%) of US filings in Australia. However, over the past 3 years, as a share of total US filings, US innovators have most rapidly increased their patenting in transport and civil engineering.
Transport saw the strongest relative patent growth in 2024, overall filings in this field are up 12.8%. China has been a key driver of growth in this field – it accounted for 58.8% of the growth in transport filings over the decade to 2024. Chinese applicants have seen the strongest long-term growth in transport patents over the past decade. In addition, over recent years, Chinese filings have shown growing strength in electrical machinery, apparatus and energy, covering electric power technologies and machines.
In 2024, transport was one of the lead technology and product classes for growth in patent, trade mark and design filings, driven by growth in filings from China.
In recent years, China has emerged as a fast expanding producer of automobiles, in particular electric vehicles and related parts including batteries. In Australia, Tesla remains the most common electric vehicle make sold. However, Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, MG, and Chery captured significant market share in 2024.6
The increasing availability of Chinese EV brands is making the Australian market more competitive, forcing major brands to reduce prices.7 At the same time, global trade in EVs and related technology is growing more concentrated.
A novel machine-learning analysis finds that in Australia the United States and China account for most EV patent filings (33.2% and 16.7% in 2024), followed by Australia (8.7%) and Korea (5.3%). However, China has significantly outpaced other countries, with a 75.0% annualised growth rate compared to 38.4% for the US. For growth in domestic EV patents, Australia follows China, with 43.6% on average per year.
Behind its growing market dominance, China has adopted policies to stimulate manufacturing and high-tech industries. Further, from the 1990s, China’s government has mandated that foreign investors in target industries – including automobiles – form joint ventures with a domestic Chinese partner, facilitating technology transfer. Via knowledge spillovers, the effects have been visible in lifting productivity and patenting not only for the Chinese partners, but also for Chinese firms that sell to those partners or operate in the same industry.8
As Chinese EV companies have expanded outside of China and sought to become global brands, they have needed to adapt to different technical standards and preferences, accommodate different consumption habits and change their marketing language.9
More broadly, 2024 saw significant growth in IP filings in transport-related classes across the registered rights:
- Trade mark filings for vehicles rose by 9.9% in 2024, with Chinese filings in this class up by 79.4% on their 2023 level (see Chapter 3).
- In 2024, transport overtook computer equipment as the leading product class for new design filings, up by 9.0%. Chinese EV producer BYD Company has entered the list of lead design filers in Australia for the first time (see Chapter 4).
Australia has emerged as an attractive destination for electric vehicle exports, underpinned by several factors. The recently enacted New Vehicle Efficiency Standard set emission targets for vehicle manufacturers. Import tariffs and fringe benefit tax were removed in 2022. At the same time, increased tariffs on Chinese EV imports in Europe and the United States have reportedly led Chinese manufacturers to shift their focus further towards the Australian market.10
- Application trends across classes are analysed using a scheme maintained by the World Intellectual Ptraroperty Organization (WIPO). The WIPO technology concordance groups various International Patent Classification classes and subclasses into 35 technology fields. For details, see https://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/.
- High volume fields are defined as classes in the top quartile for total number of applications received in 2023.
- IBISWorld. (2024). X0001 - Biotechnology in Australia, Industry Report. About - X0001 Biotechnology in Australia - MyIBISWorld.
- For example, a recent study found that patents significantly contributed to Australia’s economic expansion between 1947 and 2010. A primary mechanism was the causal effect of patents on inward FDI. See Fleming, G., Liu, F., Merrett, D. & Ville, S. (2022). Patents, foreign direct investment and economic growth in Australia, 1860–2010 (Discussion Paper 2022-08). Centre for Economic History, The Australian National University.
- IBISWorld. (2024). X0001 - Biotechnology in Australia, Industry Report. About - X0001 Biotechnology in Australia - MyIBISWorld.
- Misoyannis, A. (2025). Australian new-car sales in 2024: Annual record barely broken despite drop in demand. Drive.com.au. Retrieved 14 March 2025. https://www.drive.com.au/news/australian-new-car-sales-in-2024-december/
- Paul., S., & Chowdhury, P. (July 4 2024). Chinese electric vehicles are transforming Australia’s car market. Are we getting a good deal? The Conversation. Retrieved 14 March 2025. Chinese electric vehicles are transforming Australia’s car market. Are we getting a good deal?
- Jiang, K., Keller, W., Qui, L. D., & Ridley, W. International joint ventures and internal technology transfer vs external technology spillovers: Evidence from China. NBER Working Paper 24455
- Yang, Z. (2023). How did China come to dominate the world of electric cars? MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 14 March 2025. How did China come to dominate the world of electric cars? | MIT Technology Review
- In late 2024, the European Union imposed tariffs of 17% to 45% on Chinese electric vehicles. These were followed by 100% tariffs in the United States and Canada. Increased trade barriers in other markets have reportedly led Chinese manufacturers to shift their focus further towards the Australian market.