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Overview

IP Australia released the Australian IP Report 2025 (IP Report), providing the latest IP trends, statistics and policy developments across Australia. In this article we explore the trends and developments across key industries including consumer markets, energy and transport, pharmaceuticals and computer and AI technology. More importantly, it provides insights into where IP value is being recognised through registration and protection, enabling commercialisation opportunities, unlocking value and creating economic drivers amongst fierce international competition.

The value proposition for a proactive IP strategy

IP does not sit in isolation from your business strategy. IP can power growth strategies which attract investment, and fuels research and development (R&D) to drive productivity and profitability.

According to the IP Report, Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who apply to register their IP to build their monopoly rights, thereby protecting their points of market differentiation, are 16 per cent more likely to experience high employment growth than SMEs who don’t.  ^{For startups, the IP Report highlights that investors directly price IP into company value, increasing valuation by approximately 20 per cent.}

The IP Report data also indicates that registering your business brands as trade marks promotes real business expansion and investment in innovation. Trade mark filings were found to be a strong indicator of sustained innovation and competition with the Report indicating that businesses that register their trade marks employ 7 per cent more people and spend 5 per cent more on R&D.  ^{They also lower the expense of introducing and marketing new products by reducing costs associated with consumer searches.}

Perhaps most importantly, the IP Report statistics show an 8 per cent revenue increase for product launches backed by trade mark rights, indicating a clear trade mark strategy makes new product launches more profitable and sustainable.

International players

The IP Report highlights that Australia is an attractive market for global innovators through the dominance of non-resident filings. In 2024, approximately 91.5 per cent of standard patent applications and 43.5 per cent of trade mark filings came from overseas.  ^{For overseas innovators, filings in Australia serve as a springboard for expansion into the Asia-Pacific market. In turn, the heightened competition shapes local markets, especially in fast-moving sectors including transport, biotechnology and consumer electronics.}

The key international players continue to be the US and China, although the trends show that patent filings from the US decreased by 6.2 per cent.  ^{Meanwhile, filings from China increased 5.2 per cent for patents, 45.4 per cent for trade marks and 65.5 per cent for designs.  These figures are significant and indicate a desire to invest in business opportunities in Australia, largely driven by activity in electric vehicles (EV’s), batteries and transport technologies with companies such as BYD, MG and Chery rapidly gaining market share in Australia. The e-commerce boom also appears to be a key driver for China’s trade mark filings for household goods.}

Consumer markets

In 2024, trade mark filings increased overall only marginally. Increased activity was primarily observed across household goods, and personal items such as clothing, footwear and headgear.

The IP Report links these increases to sales arising through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Temu, which drive fierce international competition.   ^{These product areas are also amongst the most vulnerable to counterfeiting. Therefore, businesses operating in these areas should prioritise registering their trade marks and designs to both protect their IP assets and to ensure they can protect their market share and opportunities.}

Energy and transport

The IP Report filing statistics show that energy and transport continue to be high-growth market areas. This will continue to be the case while a large number of economies have a decarbonisation agenda.

2024 saw a continuation of the increasing surge in patent filings in electric power technologies and transport, including EV’s and battery systems. Transport technologies were amongst the fastest-growing classes in IP filings across patents, trade marks and designs with China accounting for 58.8 per cent of growth in transport patents over the last decade.  ^{Australian filings in electric machinery and renewable energy also grew, showing domestic innovation and market demand for clean energy.}

With increased competition, domestic businesses must prioritise building strong IP portfolios across patents, trade marks and designs to protect their own innovation, support long-term productivity and commercial strategies while ensuring they remain competitive with international entrants. SMEs in this space can also use their own IP portfolios to drive partnership opportunities with international market entrants.

Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology

Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology remain at the forefront of innovation, projected to deliver sustained growth, with industry revenue forecast to climb nearly 4 per cent annually to 2030.  Innovations in this space often require years of R&D investment. This emphasises the importance of adequate patent protection for domestic innovators to offset the risk of losing market exclusivity which could limit their ability to recoup costs and fund future innovation.

In 2024, although patent filings across pharmaceutical and health technology declined overall by 3.3 per cent, biotechnology patent filings grew by 4.7 per cent in 2024 with strong contributions from Australia (+31.7 per cent).  Other notable contributions include China (+15.8 per cent), France (+9.0 per cent), Switzerland (+3.0 per cent) and the US (+2.5 per cent).

Overall, top filers include biotechnology companies Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Amgen^{, indicating that innovation is shifting towards biopharmaceuticals and AI drug manufacturing. Top domestic filers include education and research institutions such as Monash University and CSIRO.  Australian innovators may consider collaboration and licensing opportunities with these institutions to enhance Australia’s global positioning in life sciences innovation.}

Computers and AI

AI and advanced computer technology are continuing to reshape industries, economies and everyday life. It forms the backbone of innovation in many high-growth industries such as health, energy, finance, and consumer products. IP is central to developments in these areas, even if the law is struggling to keep up with the pace of developments.

In 2024, lead domestic patent filers included gaming technology producer Aristocrat Technologies and design software company Canva, focused on systems and methods for training AI models and automated image processing.  ^{Domestic innovators also face intense global competition from US, China and Korea who continue to dominate patent filings. Therefore, technology and AI startups looking to expand into global markets must be proactive with patent and trademark filings to protect their brands and R&D investments.}

Increased competitiveness and continued growth in this industry highlights the importance of patent filings, particularly in the hardware that encapsulates these technologies. Due to the nuances associated with these cutting-edge innovations and their rapid development, it is more crucial than ever that innovators seek legal advice to best understand what aspects of the IP in their software, algorithms, data systems and AI models (and any other computer related developments) are protectable and how.

Key takeaways

Protecting your IP drives value and growth

Businesses who prioritise their IP portfolio are statistically shown to be more productive, making them better placed to scale, attract investment, and build long-term resilience. For startups, IP strengthens negotiating power with investors and partners. For established companies, trade marks and designs help to make new product launches more successful and create stronger, more sustainable brands.

Navigating global competition

Australia continues to draw heavy interest from overseas innovators. This influx raises the bar for local businesses, making proactive IP strategies essential — not only to defend market share but also to unlock opportunities for partnerships, licensing, commercialisation and international expansion.

Industry takeaways

1. Consumer markets: intensified competition in household and lifestyle products means protecting brands early and monitoring for infringement is crucial for domestic businesses to safeguard market presence with international players.
2. Energy and Transport: Innovation in EV’s, batteries and clean energy is continuously growing. Businesses in this space need strong IP portfolios to secure their inventions.
3. Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology: Projected growth in this sector highlights the necessity for patent protection and licensing arrangements to maintain market exclusivity and to enhance Australia’s positioning against international innovators.
4. Computers and AI: With technology evolving quickly, understanding what IP can be protected, and how, is critical to staying competitive.