Patent applications with Corona reference

Although publication of a patent application usually does not occur until 18 months after applications are filed, writings with application dates in 2020 are already appearing, showing an interesting trend. The reason for the early publication may be special applications and country-specific conditions. The analysis of the data shows an increasing number of Corona-related inventions. This time, China is not only the pioneer in terms of quantity, but the trend is also emerging earlier there.

While the keywords "corona," "covid," and "sars" will not appear together in a single application worldwide in 2019, their occurrence in 2020 will already add up to more than 1,000. A trend can already be seen for individual countries, as our chart illustrates. Only figures for the first half of 2020 are shown, as the values for later publications are even less comparable and only appear in the databases of the offices over time.

China is once again ahead in terms of numbers, both quantitatively and in terms of time. For the U.S. and also in Germany, it can be seen that Corona- or Covid19-related application figures only increase in the course of the year.Conclusion: even within the period that normally lies between filing and publication of a patent application, trends can already be detected and examined more closely. As our chart shows, China is not only leading the way in terms of volume this time, but the trend also emerged there earlier.