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Recent Trends in Business-Related Inventions

March 2026
Examination Research Office,
Patent Examination Department (Electronic Technology),
Japan Patent Office

In recent years, as new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have advanced—driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution—there has been growing attention on the utilization of business-related inventions.

Furthermore, since 2022 in particular, technologies and services related to generative AI have been developing rapidly. The introduction of generative AI has expanded across diverse sectors—business, education, healthcare, and government administration, and more— bringing significant transformation to business activities.

Accordingly, to clarify the filing status of business-related inventions in Japan and abroad, a survey was conducted based on patent filing data up to 2023. The findings of the survey are reported below.

Contents

  1. Outline of Business-Related Inventions
  2. Application Trends in Business-Related Inventions
  3. Reference Information on Business-Related Inventions

1. Outline of Business-Related Inventions

Business-related inventions refer to inventions in which business methods are implemented by means of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The patent system aims to contribute to the development of industry by protecting inventions. Therefore, ideas relating solely to business methods—such as sales management, logistics, or production control—do not constitute “inventions” under the Patent Act and therefore are not eligible for patent protection.

On the other hand, when a business method idea is realized through the use of ICT, the resulting invention constitutes a business-related invention and becomes eligible for patent protection (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Conceptual Diagram of Business-Related Inventions
Figure 1. Conceptual Diagram of Business-Related Inventions

As an example of a business-related invention utilizing IoT, consider a model consisting of the following six steps: (1) Collect data from various sensors or devices; (2) Transfer the collected data; (3) Convert the transferred data into “Big Data" and store it in a cloud storage system; (4) Analyze the stored data using AI, etc. and output new data; (5) Utilize the output data in any service; (6) Establish an IoT business model. In this model, the system that substantiates a company's business model can be protected as patents for business-related inventions, particularly with respect to (5) utilization of output data and (6) establishment of a business model (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Main Protectable Fields as Business-Related Inventions (IoT Model)
Figure 2. Main Protectable Fields as Business-Related Inventions (IoT Model)

2. Application Trends in Business-Related Inventions

2-1. Overall Trends in Application and Examination

  • In Japan, the number of patent applications for “business-related inventions” surged in 2000. Although the number subsequently declined following the boom in 2000, it began to rise again around 2012. In 2023, the number of such patent applications reached 19,870, surpassing the level recorded during the 2000 boom (see Figure 3).
  • The patent grant rate for “business-related inventions” filed in 2000 was 13 percent. However, the patent grant rate has increased steadily since then and exceeded 80 percent in 2023 (see Figure 4).

Figure 3. Japan's Trends in the Number of Patent Applications for Business-Related Inventions（Patent data：Patentfield）
Figure 3. Japan's Trends in the Number of Patent Applications for Business-Related Inventions
（Patent Data：Patentfield）

Figure 4. Trends in the Number of Patent Grants, the Number of Rejections, and Patent Grant Rates for Applications of Whose Main Features Are Business-Related Inventions（Patent Data：Patentfield）
Figure 4. Trends in the Number of Patent Grants, the Number of Rejections, and Patent Grant Rates for Applications of Whose Main Features Are Business-Related Inventions
（Patent Data：Patentfield）

Notes

  • In this survey, patent applications to which IPC or FI code G06Q has been assigned are defined as business-related inventions. It should be noted that this definition is valid only within the scope of this survey and does not represent an official definition provided by the Japan Patent Office.
  • Applications whose main features are business-related inventions refer to those in which G06Q is assigned as the primary FI. The same definition applies in Figures 5 and 6 below.
  • Applications that are business-related inventions but have their main features in other technical fields refer to those in which G06Q is assigned as an FI, but another FI code is assigned as the primary FI.
  • The number of applications is the total of (1) domestic patent applications and (2) applications that entered the national phase in Japan among international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
  • For PCT applications, the year of filing is regarded as the year in which the national-phase documents were received in Japan, and the applications are counted for that year.
  • Patent grant rate = Number of patent grants / (Number of patent grants + Number of rejections + Number of withdrawals or abandonments after a request for examination)

2-2. Application Trends by Field

  • According to the trends in the number of patent applications by technical field for applications in which business-related inventions themselves constitute the primary features (see Figure 5), the top three fields among business-related inventions filed in 2023 are as follows:
    (1) General services: G06Q50/ (excluding specific fields*) and G06Q90/, 99/ *“Specific fields” refer to G06Q50/04 and 50/08 (secondary industries), G06Q50/06 (energy), G06Q50/02 (primary industries), G06Q50/26 (Government or public services), and G06Q50/20 (education). The same applies hereinafter.
    (2) Administration and management: G06Q10/
    (3) E-commerce and marketing: G06Q30/
  • These three fields have shown an increasing trend since 2015 and experienced a sharp rise in 2023.
  • Following the top three fields, the next largest field in terms of application volume is Finance: G06Q20/, 40/. Although the number of applications in this field increased 2.7-fold from 2015 to 2023, a significant increase was not observed in 2023.
  • In addition, the number of patent applications in Education: G06Q50/20 had remained below 100 until 2020, and even in 2022 stood at only 112. However, in 2023, the number increased by approximately sixfold compared to the previous year.

Figure 5. Trends in Patent Applications by Field for Applications Whose Main Features Are Business-Related Inventions（Patent Data：Patentfield）
Figure 5. Trends in Patent Applications by Field for Applications Whose Main Features Are Business-Related Inventions
（Patent Data：Patentfield）

2-3. AI-Related Inventions and Business-Related Inventions

  • Figure 6 shows the trends in the number of patent applications by technical field, from 2015 to 2023, for “applications whose main features are business-related inventions” and that also relate to “AI-related inventions”.
  • “Business-related inventions” exhibit a high degree of affinity with AI, and the number of cases in which AI is used to solve business challenges has been increasing. Furthermore, since 2022, technologies utilizing “generative AI” and “conversational AI” have rapidly become widespread, bringing significant transformations to various business domains.
  • Since 2015, the fields of “General services”, “Administration and Management”, and “E-commerce and Marketing” have shown an upward trend. In 2023, in addition to these three fields, “Education” field also experienced a sharp increase in the number of patent applications.

Figure 6. Trend in Patent Applications for Applications Whose Main Features Are Business-Related Inventions Related to AI-Related Inventions (Application Year: 2015–2023)　（Patent Data：Patentfield）
Figure 6. Trend in Patent Applications for Applications Whose Main Features Are Business-Related Inventions Related to AI-Related Inventions
(Application Year: 2015–2023)
（Patent Data：Patentfield）

Notes

  • The patent documents shown in Figure 6 were extracted by combining (i) the population of patent applications classified as “applications whose main features are business-related inventions” with (ii) the population of patent applications separately identified as “AI-related inventions.”
  • For the definition and details of AI-related inventions, please refer to “the Survey on the Filing Status of AI-related inventions”.

2-4. Application Trends by Country/Region

  • Figure 7 shows the trends in the number of patent applications filed for “business-related inventions” in each country or region from 2011 to 2023.
  • In 2011, the United States received the largest number of patent applications for “business-related inventions”, followed by the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China. Subsequently, the number of applications filed in China increased rapidly, reaching 94,193 in 2023—approximately 16 times the number filed in 2011.
  • The number of patent applications filed in Japan has increased year by year, with a particularly sharp rise observed in 2023.
  • The number of patent applications filed in the Republic of Korea shows an upward trend; filings in the United States experienced a period of decline but have generally shown an increasing trend overall; and filings at the European Patent Office have remained mostly flat.

Figure 7. Trends in Patent Applications for Business-Related Inventions by Country/Region (Application Year: 2011–2023)（Patent Data：DerwentTM Innovation）
Figure 7. Trends in Patent Applications for Business-Related Inventions by Country/Region
(Application Year: 2011–2023)
（Patent Data：DerwentTM Innovation）

Notes

  • In the survey corresponding to Figure 7, patent applications to which IPC code G06Q has been assigned are defined as business-related inventions.
  • The figure shows data for 2011 (in black) and 2023 (in red).

3. Reference Information on Business-Related Inventions

  1. Examination Handbook for Patent and Utility Model in Japan Annex B Chapter 1 Computer Software-related inventions (PDF : 2,670KB)
  2. Examination Guidelines pertinent to IoT related technologies
  3. Patent Examination Case Examples pertinent to AI-related technologies
  4. Recent Trends in AI-related inventions
  5. Japanese Page

[Last updated 30 March 2026]

Contact Us

Examination Research Office,
Patent Examination department (Electronic Technology),
Japan Patent Office

E-mail:PA5Y00@jpo.go.jp 

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