Blockchain patents more than double in a year

Blockchain patent filings more than doubled in 2018 according to research firm Cintelliq.

According to Cintelliq, 3,426 blockchain patents were published in 2018, more than double the 588 patents published in 2017.

Cintelliq’s figures show that since 2008, there have been over 5,500 patents filed and granted by over 1,400 assignees.

China holds the most in terms of number of blockchain patents filed, with 41 percent, closely followed by the US with 32 percent.

Cintelliq’s report says around 10 percent of these patents are granted, with Korea and the US holding 71 percent of granted patents.

More core technology patents and core/application patents are filed in the US, according to Cintelliq, whereas more application and generic blockchain patents are filed in China.

Various industries have caused the increasing interest in blockchain, with pharmaceutical, silicon vendors, and healthcare some of the notable industries, according to Cintelliq.

The number of new inventions in blockchain patents accounts for the bulk of published blockchain patents according to Cintelliq, whose figures show over 2,000 new inventions related to blockchain have been published.

Cintelliq says that the number of blockchain patents will continue to increase over the next few years due to “assignees develop[ing] more inventions and seek[ing] IP protection worldwide”.