Australian IP report 2025
Office of the Chief Economist
IP Australia’s Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) produces evidence and advice to inform IP policy, increase understanding about the IP system’s economic role and impact, and improve operational effectiveness in the administration of IP rights.
Research program
The OCE’s research program is broadly structured under 3 themes:
- Economic shocks and cycles, examining the drivers of demand for IP, the response of IP to changing economic, institutional and trade conditions, and the impacts of IP for businesses in navigating market uncertainty
- Frontier technologies, the digital economy and sector-specific studies, examining the implications of technological change for the IP system and specific needs of innovation communities and sectors
- Productivity, competition and access to the IP system, evaluating the role of IP in driving innovation, productivity and SME growth, the impact of IP settings on economic competition and dynamism, and any barriers to innovators accessing protections
New publications
In 2024-25, IP Australia published 4 new research reports, as well as the 2024 Australian IP Report, by IP Australia and its research partners.
- A study analysing trends in patenting for computer implemented inventions, comparing outcomes for these patents in Australia vs other jurisdictions.
- A study analysing the relative scope of patents granted in Australia compared to patents granted in other jurisdictions and the impact of Australia’s Raising the Bar reforms.
- Two new reports documenting the business environment for patenting firms and changes in patenting behaviour in Australia.
- A study on the value of trade marks for predicting change in Australia’s business cycle.
Our thanks to all who have contributed at the Centre for Transformative Innovation Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, EPFL and The University of Queensland.
New and ongoing projects
Looking forward the OCE is progressing research on a broad range of topics including:
- Application timeframe issues across the registered rights.
- The economic implications of patent policy settings – such as patent scope and subject matter eligibility.
- Impacts for the IP system of global policy and trade developments, such as rising protectionism, and the rapid rise in IP filings from China.
- Barriers to entry into the IP system including the extent and sources of trade mark clutter.
Our ongoing research program includes activity to monitor trends in the innovation system and evaluate the value and functions of IP across settings to inform policy development.
For new publications and reports, visit IP Australia’s website. To discuss opportunities for collaboration, email chiefeconomist@ipaustralia.gov.au
Data and Analytics
Data and Analytics is IP Australia’s primary point of contact for cross-cutting questions requiring IP data and analyses from multiple sources within IP Australia and globally. Data and Analytics offers a patent analytics service and a data ‘front door’ service to external stakeholders for addressing data-related queries across different IP rights.
The data front door provides open data products and services covering IP filings in Australia. The data is used by university researchers, government departments and agencies, attorneys to aid research and policy decision-making. Users can request data by contacting data@ipaustralia.gov.au
The patent analytics service uses global patent data to derive insights and business intelligence on innovation trends, market profiles, areas of competition and collaboration, and commercial opportunities in specific technology areas. This information aids policy and decision-makers across government in making well-informed, data-driven decisions. Agencies can request patent analytics services by emailing analytics@ipaustralia.gov.au.In 2025 Data and Analytics will explore opportunities to further enhance data products and services, aiming to make IP data more accessible to decision makers in the innovation ecosystem.
IP Rights Overview
In 2025, Data and Analytics launched the IP Rights Overview, a tool designed to provide a user-friendly platform for accessing IP Australia’s open dataset IP RAPID. This tool supplements the annual IP Report by offering weekly self-serve updates and insights for our stakeholders.
IP RAPID
Data and Analytics provides data products and services covering IP filings in Australia. The data is used by university researchers, government departments and agencies, attorneys, and it underpins this report, supporting research and policy decision making. Users can access these services by emailing data@ipaustralia.gov.au
In 2023, Data and Analytics released a new open data product, IP RAPID, replacing Intellectual Property Government Open Data. IP RAPID is a publicly available dataset, refreshed weekly, that provides access to over 100 years of information from IP Australia on IP rights applications. Providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for administrative data allows users to research the classification of IP rights, linkages between Australian and international IP rights, and IP transfers between parties. Our open data products are available at data.gov.au
Analysis on AI and sports technologies
In 2024, Data and Analytics published an overview of Australian patenting trends in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies 2015–2022 and updated the previously released interactive visualisations on AI technologies, a field included in the Australian Government’s Critical Technologies List. Analysing global patenting trends with a special focus on Australia provides essential information for decision-makers as the nation seeks to strengthen its national capabilities.
Furthermore, the analysis of patent filings in sports technologies, published in 2024, helped the Australian Institute of Sports in identifying competitor nations, domestic innovation activity and strategic partners. This helped align the interests of Australian sports with global innovation activities and inform strategic directions in para-athletic assistive technologies.
Support for critical technologies and National Reconstruction Fund
During 2024, Data and Analytics continued to support the DISR Critical Technologies Hub in their work to ensure that Australia’s critical technology policies are balanced, effective and evidence-based as part of the Australian Government’s Action Plan for Critical Technologies. Our patent analyses on National Reconstruction Fund priority areas aided the Department of Education in evaluating research commercialisation policies and programs. We also responded to requests from other federal departments and agencies with patent analytics on the technologies of national interest, including quantum technologies, robotics technologies and critical mineral extraction and processing.
Additionally, we provided over 800 international-type search patent analytics reports at no cost to Australian patent applicants who requested an international-type search for their inventions in 2024. These analytics reports offer a global snapshot of trends and activities related to the technology, helping shape the applicants’ IP strategy.
IPAVentures
IPAVentures is IP Australia’s innovation capability aimed at supporting the organisation’s vision of creating a world-class IP system and promoting prosperity for Australians. IPAVentures applies a rigorous and disciplined methodology to research, ideate, prototype, validate and deliver innovative ventures.
This year IPAVentures launched 'IP First Response', a pilot tool aimed at helping small businesses that hold IP rights to understand and navigate options for addressing infringement and enforcing their rights, and minimise the distress and confusion that can happen when facing infringement.
Alongside IP Australia’s existing services, IP rights holders can use IP First Response to:
- find clear, step-by-step information on common enforcement pathways
- learn about potential costs, risks, and outcomes
- inform themselves about how they could choose to address the issue.
The platform does not seek to replace professional advice, rather provide a useful first step to better understand the options available.
The results of the studies in this report are based, in part, on ABR data supplied by the Registrar to the ABS under A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999 and tax data supplied by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to the ABS under the Taxation Administration Act 1953. These require that such data is only used to carry out functions of the ABS. No individual information collected under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 is provided to the Registrar or ATO for administrative or regulatory purposes. Any discussion of data limitations or weaknesses is in the context of using the data for statistical purposes and is not related to the ability of the data to support the ABR or ATO’s core operational requirements. Legislative requirements to ensure the privacy and secrecy of this data have been followed. Only people authorised under the ABS Act 1975 have viewed data about any firm when conducting these analyses. In accordance with the Census and Statistics Act 1905, results have been confidentialised to ensure that they are not likely to enable the identification of a particular person or organisation.