Intellectual Property Management Software Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Intellectual Property Management Software Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Global Intellectual Property Management Software market was valued at USD 6.97 Billion in 2022, and it is expected to reach a value of USD 18.54 Billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 17.27% over the forecast period (2022-2027).

Key Highlights

• Intellectual property is a legal approach to preserving ideas or inventions for commercial benefits by providing creators or inventors with certain exclusive rights. The incremental increase in the adoption of outsourcing services by larger enterprises contributes significantly to the growth of the IP management software market.
• Managing the organization’s intellectual property portfolio is as important as managing the business. It is a big piece in almost any enterprise’s value puzzle. Additionally, anyone operating a business primarily understands the importance of maximizing the return on investments related to employees, equipment, products, and services. However, multiple organizations overlook or short-change intellectual property.
• Intellectual property is not just a collection of rights that lawyers alone should care about; this property is primarily a collection of many valuable business assets that help businesses maintain a competitive edge over their competitors. It includes patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Therefore, reviewing, organizing, and managing the IP as its value driver becomes critical.
• Managing all the potential intellectual property assets has become one of the most crucial parts of securing a place in the market as the business grows. Vendors in the market can significantly help companies protect their competitive advantages from infringements. Using a wealth of experience, IP management software and services providers guide the development of a smarter IP portfolio that may align with the business strategy and maximize the IP assets.
• The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the market studied. A prolonged pandemic crisis heightened by COVID-19 may push the intellectual property and legal services domain downwards, like other sectors and industries. However, the possibility of significant growth in the intellectual property domain cannot be ignored once the COVID situation ends, as a post-COVID world will more likely push tech companies to go after the licensing of their existing IP portfolio to incentivize their financial reserves. This will increase the demand for the market studied.

Key Market TrendsPatent Intellectual Property Management is Expected to Drive the Market Growth

• Patent IP management has observed a significant shift toward digitization in recent years. In 2021, the number of patent filings increased significantly. According to a Japan Patent Office report published in August 2021, NTT was the leading company based on the number of AI-related patent applications in Japan, with 788 domestic patent applications for which the patent publication had been issued as of May 2021. NTT was followed by other major Japanese corporations, such as Fujitsu, Hitachi, and Canon.
• In a report published in February 2022, the international patent applications filed via WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), one of the widely used metrics for measuring innovative activity, grew by 0.9% in 2021 to reach 277,500 applications. Asia manifested its lead as the most significant origin of international patent applications, accounting for 54.1% of all applications in 2021, up from 38.5% in 2011.
• Moreover, for the fourth consecutive year, China-based telecom giant Huawei Technologies, with 6,952 published PCT applications, was the top filer in 2021. It was followed by Qualcomm Inc. of the US (3,931), Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea (3,041), LG Electronics Inc. of the Republic of Korea (2,885), and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. of Japan (2,673). Qualcomm Inc. reported the fastest growth (+80.9%) in the number of published applications in 2021, and as a result, it moved from the fifth position in 2020 to the second spot in 2021. Qualcomm’s filings related to digital communication almost doubled – from 1,486 in 2020 to 2,951 in 2021 – helping drive solid growth.
• Commercial enterprises and patent offices worldwide also leverage emerging technologies to unlock major benefits. For instance, the US patent office has implemented AI solutions to suggest patent classes, which should be searched to make the process more effective. The European Patent Office has also implemented a tool to translate patents published in 32 languages.
• The use of AI opens legal issues that depend on the specifics of the technology used. Although human inventors behind AI are still easy to identify, it is merely a matter of time until the machine will bypass its creators and develop its process for more efficient R&D. This is likely to lead legislators, patent offices, and courts to complex questions of attributing inventorship or even awarding patent protection at all.

Asia Pacific is Expected to Witness Highest Growth Rate

• According to the World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPO), Asia manifested its lead as the most significant origin of international patent applications, accounting for 54.1% of all applications in 2021, up from 38.5% in 2011, with China driving overall growth in demand for intellectual property (IP) rights.
• Four of the top five PCT filers at WIPO in 2021 were from the Asia-Pacific region. China-based telecom giant Huawei Technologies, with 6,952 published PCT applications, was the top filer in 2021, followed by Qualcomm Inc. of the United States (3,931), Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea (3,041), LG Electronics Inc. of the Republic of Korea (2,885), and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. of Japan (2,673).
• However, the Chinese patent office witnessed nearly 815,000 patent application irregularities in 2021. For instance, in December 2021, the China National Intellectual Property Administration identified four batches of 815,000 irregular patent applications. The current withdrawal rate of the first three batches has reached 93.1%. This would indicate that roughly~15% of all Chinese patent applications were irregular (or abnormal), as about 5.2 million patent applications were filed in 2020. At the press conference, there were also 376,000 malicious trademark registration applications.
• Furthermore, according to the CEO and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra, the pandemic increased the rate of technology adoption since IT industries went virtual. As a result, cloud-based digital solutions will enhance agility, empower hybrid workspaces, and facilitate intellectual property (IP)-led innovation for the information technology-enabled services (ITeS) sector in India that has been at the forefront of digital transformation and enterprises.
• In March 2021, Huawei released a new white paper on innovation and intellectual property at the Forum on Innovation and IP Prospects in 2021 and Beyond. Huawei stated that it became one of the world's largest patent holders through sustained investment in innovation. By 2020, Huawei held over 100,000 active patents in more than 40,000 patent families worldwide.

Competitive Landscape

The Intellectual Property Management Software Market is competitive and consists of several major players. Many companies are increasing their market presence by introducing innovative solutions or entering into strategic partnerships. Some of the recent developments in the market are:

• June 2022 – Anaqua, the leading global innovation and intellectual property (IP) management technology provider, announced the acquisition of Practice Insight Pty Ltd and its intelligent time capture software WiseTime, from IPH Limited. The acquisition will meet the evolving needs of the law firm market.
• December 2021 - Clarivate PLC announced the acquisition of Patient Connect, a patient engagement tool provider that assesses clinical and commercial results and informs healthcare development.
• June 2021 - BritAsia Fund partners with a digital intelligence platform, PatSnap, to inspire business and economic growth. By unlocking the potential of diligent, passionate, and driven entrepreneurs, the company aims to get the UK PLC back on its feet. BritAsia Fund has created a system whereby entrepreneurs can access opportunities based solely on merit.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Please note: This publisher does offer titles that are created upon receipt of order. If you are purchasing a PDF Email Delivery option above, the report will take approximately 2 business days to prepare and deliver.