GINC Patents
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Production & Innovation

Digital Economy Adoption

The capacity to put digital technology to work across the whole economy: firms and households in actual use, from basic tools to data-driven operations and machine intelligence. One of the capabilities of Technology Adoption & Diffusion.

International families
74k2015 to 2024
Leading country
United States1.4× the next
All families
548khome filings included
Over five years
Steady2020 to 2024 against the five before

Year by year

Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.

Volume

International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Share by country

Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Country leaderboard

International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.

Ten largest

United States

Japan

China

South Korea

Germany

Canada

India

France

Taiwan

United Kingdom

21,362

15,584

10,966

7,828

2,749

1,808

1,436

1,111

1,096

1,087

2000 to 2025
1United States21,36229.0%0.8×
58,276
2Japan15,58421.2%1.3×
49,937
3China10,96614.9%1.2×
346,992
4South Korea7,82810.6%1.6×
59,630
5Germany2,7493.7%1.2×
4,930
6Canada1,8082.5%1.1×
3,125
7India1,4362.0%1.2×
2,251
8France1,1111.5%0.8×
1,834
9Taiwan1,0961.5%0.8×
4,075
10United Kingdom1,0871.5%0.8×
1,727
11Australia8221.1%0.7×
1,686
12Switzerland7401.0%1.2×
968
13Singapore6630.9%1.2×
866
14Cayman Islands6300.9%0.1×
693
15Israel5200.7%0.7×
1,061
16Türkiye4830.7%1.9×
1,563
17Ireland4780.6%0.4×
785
18Italy4590.6%1.3×
1,139
19Sweden4450.6%0.9×
552
20Netherlands4220.6%0.8×
607
21Finland3080.4%0.7×
373
22Hong Kong2360.3%0.3×
318
23Russia2240.3%0.4×
585
24Spain1580.2%0.7×
239
25Austria1450.2%1.0×
188
26Belgium1340.2%0.7×
253
27Denmark1290.2%1.7×
139
28Brazil1270.2%0.7×
505
29Saudi Arabia1150.2%2.3×
195
30South Africa1120.2%0.8×
120
31Malaysia950.1%0.7×
148
32New Zealand810.1%1.3×
95
33Norway730.1%1.4×
93
34Poland670.1%0.7×
171
35Mexico510.1%0.4×
116
36Luxembourg430.1%0.7×
76
37Portugal400.1%1.4×
67
38Czechia280.0%0.9×
54
39Hungary210.0%0.5×
43
40Liechtenstein100.0%4.0×
11

Applicants

The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in Digital Economy Adoption. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.

Global

73,571 international families

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP · Japan

TOYOTA MOTOR CO LTD · Japan

MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC · United States

NEC CORP · Japan

COUPANG CORP · South Korea

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD · China

1,669

1,632

1,420

1,235

1,204

1,011

United States

21,362 international families

MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

GOOGLE LLC

WALMART APOLLO LLC

MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL INC

GOOGLE INC

WAL MART STORES INC

1,414

596

538

468

412

311

Japan

15,584 international families

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP

TOYOTA MOTOR CO LTD

NEC CORP

HITACHI LTD

TOSHIBA TEC KK

HONDA MOTOR CO LTD

1,658

1,627

1,219

958

625

607

China

10,966 international families

PING AN TECH SHENZHEN CO LTD

HUAWEI TECH CO LTD

TENCENT TECH SHENZHEN CO LTD

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD

BEIJING ZITIAO NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CO LTD

BEIJING DIDI INFINITY TECHNOLOGY & DEV CO LTD

786

369

352

277

256

244

South Korea

7,828 international families

COUPANG CORP

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD

KIA CORP

LG ELECTRONICS INC

KIA MOTORS CORP

1,204

607

287

244

213

138

Germany

2,749 international families

SIEMENS AG

BASF SE

BOSCH GMBH ROBERT

SAP SE

BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG

SIEMENS LTD CHINA

573

199

189

92

79

77

Similar capabilities

The nine capabilities that share the most international patent families with Digital Economy Adoption, 2015 to 2024: the families counted in both as a share of those counted in either. Each card shows its five largest countries.

Trade & Investment

Digital Trade & E-Commerce

28.6% shared · 21,340 families in both

United States

Japan

South Korea

China

Canada

6,376

4,793

3,598

2,845

590

Production & Innovation

Services Economy

13.5% shared · 18,674 families in both

United States

Japan

South Korea

China

Germany

24,048

16,321

11,491

8,566

3,398

Strategic Infrastructure

Data Resources

11.0% shared · 16,346 families in both

United States

China

Japan

South Korea

Germany

28,809

23,945

12,592

7,266

3,037

Strategic Infrastructure

Payments & Settlement Systems

10.4% shared · 9,291 families in both

United States

Japan

China

South Korea

Germany

8,689

3,604

3,322

2,540

750

Strategic Infrastructure

Logistics, Multimodal & Border Infrastructure

9.4% shared · 8,945 families in both

United States

Japan

China

Germany

South Korea

7,338

5,665

3,834

2,960

2,293

Trade & Investment

Maritime & Logistics Services

8.9% shared · 8,942 families in both

United States

Japan

China

Germany

South Korea

8,146

6,361

4,144

3,442

2,840

Strategic Infrastructure

Supply Chain & Ecosystem

8.8% shared · 7,566 families in both

Japan

United States

China

Germany

South Korea

5,464

3,990

2,382

2,036

1,428

Critical Technology

Applied AI & Advanced Analytics

7.7% shared · 19,991 families in both

United States

China

Japan

South Korea

Germany

52,577

44,684

37,272

22,879

11,142

Financial Strength

Payment & Market Infrastructure Oversight

6.8% shared · 5,733 families in both

United States

China

South Korea

Japan

Cayman Islands

6,452

2,381

1,618

1,604

589

Crosswalk

How Digital Economy Adoption is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 190 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.

EntryTitle in the schemeWhy it is chosenCPC codesIPC codesDocuments
G06Q30/00CommerceCommerce systems: online shopping, marketing, customer service, billing157401,605,249
G06Q10/06Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modellingEnterprise resource, workflow and project management systems289792,172
G06Q10/10Office automation; Time managementOffice automation, collaboration and scheduling systems119367,313

CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.

The Cooperative codes in use that count towards Digital Economy Adoption: 196 codes on 2,764,734 documents. The 150 most used are listed; the full list is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.

CodeTitleUnder entryHow placedDocuments
G06Q30/02Marketing; Price estimation or determination; FundraisingG06Q30/00In the scheme169,139
G06Q10/10Office automation; Time managementG06Q10/10In the scheme151,206
G06Q10/06Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modellingG06Q10/06In the scheme107,405
G06Q30/06Buying, selling or leasing transactionsG06Q30/00In the scheme102,391
G06Q10/103Workflow collaboration or project managementG06Q10/10In the scheme72,716
G06Q10/06393Score-carding, benchmarking or key performance indicator [KPI] analysisG06Q10/06In the scheme66,633
G06Q30/0601Electronic shopping [e-shopping]G06Q30/00In the scheme66,565
G06Q10/0635Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activitiesG06Q10/06In the scheme64,589
G06Q30/0201Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market dataG06Q30/00In the scheme63,661
G06Q30/0631Recommending goods or servicesG06Q30/00In the scheme56,394
G06Q10/06315Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysisG06Q10/06In the scheme56,238
G06Q10/0631Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisationsG06Q10/06In the scheme56,037
G06Q10/063Operations research, analysis or managementG06Q10/06In the scheme49,412
G06Q10/107Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]G06Q10/10In the scheme40,977
G06Q30/0277Online advertisementG06Q30/00In the scheme40,330
G06Q30/0641Electronic shopping [e-shopping] utilising user interfaces specially adapted for shoppingG06Q30/00In the scheme40,299
G06Q10/0639Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operationsG06Q10/06In the scheme39,288
G06Q10/06312Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic reschedulingG06Q10/06In the scheme39,037
G06Q10/06311Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or groupG06Q10/06In the scheme38,658
G06Q10/0637Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goalsG06Q10/06In the scheme37,504
G06Q30/04Billing or invoicingG06Q30/00In the scheme36,932
G06Q30/0207Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebatesG06Q30/00In the scheme34,833
G06Q30/0283Price estimation or determinationG06Q30/00In the scheme34,455
G06Q30/0635Managing shopping lists, e.g. compiling or processing purchase lists replenishment orders; recurring ordersG06Q30/00In the scheme33,017
G06Q30/018Certifying business or productsG06Q30/00In the scheme32,884
G06Q30/0241AdvertisementsG06Q30/00In the scheme32,707
G06Q10/06395Quality analysis or managementG06Q10/06In the scheme31,905
G06Q30/08AuctionsG06Q30/00In the scheme31,267
G06Q30/0633Managing shopping lists, e.g. compiling or processing purchase listsG06Q30/00In the scheme30,311
G06Q30/0643Electronic shopping [e-shopping] utilising user interfaces specially adapted for shopping graphically representing goods, e.g. 3D product representationG06Q30/00In the scheme29,347
G06Q10/06313Resource planning in a project environmentG06Q10/06In the scheme29,150
G06Q30/0202Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activitiesG06Q30/00In the scheme28,415
G06Q10/06316Sequencing of tasks or workG06Q10/06In the scheme28,406
G06Q30/0269Targeted advertisements based on user profile or attributeG06Q30/00In the scheme28,385
G06Q10/067Enterprise or organisation modellingG06Q10/06In the scheme28,105
G06Q10/0633Workflow analysisG06Q10/06In the scheme27,418
G06Q30/0251Targeted advertisementsG06Q30/00In the scheme27,309
G06Q10/109Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accountingG06Q10/10In the scheme25,032
G06Q30/0255Targeted advertisements based on user historyG06Q30/00In the scheme23,731
G06Q30/00CommerceG06Q30/00In the scheme23,492
G06Q30/0206Price or cost determination based on market factorsG06Q30/00In the scheme23,461
G06Q30/0185Product, service or business identity fraudG06Q30/00In the scheme22,849
G06Q30/0267Wireless devicesG06Q30/00In the scheme22,130
G06Q30/0645Rental transactions; Leasing transactionsG06Q30/00In the scheme21,007
G06Q30/0261Targeted advertisements based on user locationG06Q30/00In the scheme20,542
G06Q10/101Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or servicesG06Q10/10In the scheme20,424
G06Q30/0282Rating or review of business operators or productsG06Q30/00In the scheme20,044
G06Q30/0621Electronic shopping [e-shopping] by configuring or customising goods or servicesG06Q30/00In the scheme19,682
G06Q10/1093Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groupsG06Q10/10In the scheme18,772
G06Q10/06398Performance of employee with respect to a job functionG06Q10/06In the scheme17,978
G06Q10/063114Status monitoring or status determination for a person or groupG06Q10/06In the scheme17,788
G06Q30/0613Electronic shopping [e-shopping] using intermediate agentsG06Q30/00In the scheme17,456
G06Q10/06375Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed changeG06Q10/06In the scheme16,649
G06Q30/0242Determining effectiveness of advertisementsG06Q30/00In the scheme15,986
G06Q30/016After-salesG06Q30/00In the scheme14,999
G06Q10/063112Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a taskG06Q10/06In the scheme14,760
G06Q30/0609Qualifying participants for shopping transactionsG06Q30/00In the scheme14,276
G06Q30/0203Market surveys; Market pollsG06Q30/00In the scheme13,927
G06Q30/0273Determination of fees for advertisingG06Q30/00In the scheme13,510
G06Q30/0623Electronic shopping [e-shopping] by investigating goods or servicesG06Q30/00In the scheme13,347
G06Q30/0281Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consultingG06Q30/00In the scheme12,955
G06Q30/0226Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systemsG06Q30/00In the scheme12,723
G06Q30/0271Personalized advertisementG06Q30/00In the scheme12,578
G06Q10/105Human resourcesG06Q10/10In the scheme12,524
G06Q10/1053Employment or hiringG06Q10/10In the scheme11,387
G06Q30/0639Locating goods or services, e.g. based on physical position of the goods or services within a shopping facilityG06Q30/00In the scheme10,848
G06Q30/0603Catalogue creation or managementG06Q30/00In the scheme10,823
G06Q30/0625Electronic shopping [e-shopping] by investigating goods or services by formulating product or service queries, e.g. using keywords or predefined optionsG06Q30/00In the scheme10,799
G06Q30/0276Advertisement creationG06Q30/00In the scheme9,855
G06Q30/0256User searchG06Q30/00In the scheme9,761
G06Q30/0222During e-commerce, i.e. online transactionsG06Q30/00In the scheme9,745
G06Q30/0239Online discounts or incentivesG06Q30/00In the scheme9,642
G06Q30/0205Market segmentation based on location or geographical considerationG06Q30/00In the scheme9,611
G06Q30/0278Product appraisalG06Q30/00In the scheme9,341
G06Q30/0611Request for offers or quotesG06Q30/00In the scheme9,096
G06Q30/0224Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates based on user historyG06Q30/00In the scheme9,058
G06Q30/0619Neutral agentG06Q30/00In the scheme8,063
G06Q30/0275AuctionsG06Q30/00In the scheme7,894
G06Q30/0605Pooling transaction partners, e.g. group buying or group sellingG06Q30/00In the scheme7,726
G06Q30/0246TrafficG06Q30/00In the scheme7,630
G06Q30/01Customer relationship servicesG06Q30/00In the scheme7,608
G06Q30/0254Targeted advertisements based on statisticsG06Q30/00In the scheme7,493
G06Q30/0244OptimizationG06Q30/00In the scheme7,311
G06Q10/06314Calendaring for a resourceG06Q10/06In the scheme7,276
G06Q30/0284Time or distance, e.g. usage of parking meters or taximetersG06Q30/00In the scheme6,836
G06Q30/0204Market segmentationG06Q30/00In the scheme6,584
G06Q30/0238Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates at point-of-sale [POS]G06Q30/00In the scheme6,545
G06Q30/0208Trade or exchange of goods or services in exchange for incentives or rewardsG06Q30/00In the scheme6,365
G06Q30/0236Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from userG06Q30/00In the scheme6,338
G06Q10/1097Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting using calendar-based scheduling for task assignmentG06Q10/10In the scheme6,133
G06Q30/0272Period of advertisement exposureG06Q30/00In the scheme6,092
G06Q10/1091Recording time for administrative or management purposesG06Q10/10In the scheme6,052
G06Q30/0257User requestedG06Q30/00In the scheme5,995
G06Q30/0627Electronic shopping [e-shopping] by investigating goods or services by formulating product or service queries, e.g. using keywords or predefined options by specifying product or service characteristics, e.g. product dimensionsG06Q30/00In the scheme5,705
G06Q30/0629Electronic shopping [e-shopping] by investigating goods or services by formulating product or service queries, e.g. using keywords or predefined options by pre-processing results, e.g. ranking or ordering resultsG06Q30/00In the scheme5,678
G06Q30/0225Avoiding fraudsG06Q30/00In the scheme5,507
G06Q30/015Providing customer assistance, e.g. assisting a customer within a business location or via helpdeskG06Q30/00In the scheme5,491
G06Q10/063118Staff planning in a project environmentG06Q10/06In the scheme5,261
G06Q30/0253During e-commerce, i.e. online transactionsG06Q30/00In the scheme5,194
G06Q10/063116Schedule adjustment for a person or groupG06Q10/06In the scheme5,024
G06Q30/0215Including financial accountsG06Q30/00In the scheme4,834
G06Q30/0235Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates constrained by time limit or expiration dateG06Q30/00In the scheme4,814
G06Q30/0214Referral reward systemsG06Q30/00In the scheme4,786
G06Q30/0259Targeted advertisements based on store locationG06Q30/00In the scheme4,723
G06Q30/0264Targeted advertisements based upon scheduleG06Q30/00In the scheme4,664
G06Q30/0212Chance discounts or incentivesG06Q30/00In the scheme4,594
G06Q30/0209Incentive being awarded or redeemed in connection with the playing of a video gameG06Q30/00In the scheme4,266
G06Q30/0217Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewardsG06Q30/00In the scheme4,142
G06Q30/0252Targeted advertisements based on events or environment, e.g. weather or festivalsG06Q30/00In the scheme3,673
G06Q30/0211Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentivesG06Q30/00In the scheme3,598
G06Q30/0265Vehicular advertisementG06Q30/00In the scheme3,564
G06Q30/0247Calculate past, present or future revenuesG06Q30/00In the scheme3,510
G06Q30/0637Managing shopping lists, e.g. compiling or processing purchase lists requiring approval before final submission, e.g. parental approvalG06Q30/00In the scheme3,507
G06Q30/0607Regulating the sale of restricted items, e.g. alcoholG06Q30/00In the scheme3,348
G06Q30/0243Comparative campaignsG06Q30/00In the scheme3,315
G06Q30/0268Targeted advertisements at point-of-sale [POS]G06Q30/00In the scheme3,306
G06Q30/0266Vehicular advertisement based on the position of the vehicleG06Q30/00In the scheme3,195
G06Q30/0245SurveysG06Q30/00In the scheme3,105
G06Q30/0248Avoiding fraudG06Q30/00In the scheme3,034
G06Q30/0279Fundraising managementG06Q30/00In the scheme2,988
G06Q30/012Providing warranty servicesG06Q30/00In the scheme2,984
G06Q30/0234Rebates after completed purchaseG06Q30/00In the scheme2,772
G06Q30/0233Method of redeeming a frequent usage rewardG06Q30/00In the scheme2,699
G06Q30/0617Representative agentG06Q30/00In the scheme2,679
G06Q10/0674Enterprise or organisation modelling using process simulationG06Q10/06In the scheme2,609
G06Q30/0213Consumer transaction feesG06Q30/00In the scheme2,125
G06Q10/1057Benefits or employee welfare, e.g. insurance, holiday or retirement packagesG06Q10/10In the scheme2,090
G06Q10/06334Workflow analysis using forecasting or predictingG06Q10/06In the scheme2,083
G06Q30/0249Advertisements based upon budgets or fundsG06Q30/00In the scheme2,079
G06Q30/0258RegistrationG06Q30/00In the scheme1,944
G06Q30/0263Targeted advertisements based upon Internet or website ratingG06Q30/00In the scheme1,733
G06Q30/0223Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates based on inventoryG06Q30/00In the scheme1,661
G06Q30/0237Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates at kioskG06Q30/00In the scheme1,525
G06Q10/06332Workflow analysis using business process templatesG06Q10/06In the scheme1,480
G06Q30/0229Multi-merchant loyalty card systemsG06Q30/00In the scheme1,333
G06Q30/0274Split feesG06Q30/00In the scheme1,103
G06Q30/0231Awarding of a frequent usage incentive independent of the monetary value of a good or service purchased, or distance travelledG06Q30/00In the scheme959
G06Q30/0218Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards based on scoreG06Q30/00In the scheme882
G06Q30/0227Frequent usage incentive value reconciliation between diverse systemsG06Q30/00In the scheme880
G06Q30/014Providing recall services for goods or productsG06Q30/00In the scheme811
G06Q30/0232Frequent usage rewards other than merchandise, cash or travelG06Q30/00In the scheme731
G06Q30/0615AnonymizingG06Q30/00In the scheme701
G06Q30/0219Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates based on funds or budgetG06Q30/00In the scheme697
G06Q30/0262Targeted advertisements during computer stand-by modeG06Q30/00In the scheme585
G06Q10/06317Resource planning based on arrival predictions or arrival trackingG06Q10/06In the scheme572
G06Q30/02011Profiling or inferring profiles of users or market based on their behaviourG06Q30/00In the scheme548
G06Q30/0216Investment accountsG06Q30/00In the scheme528
G06Q10/063119Staff planning or adjustment in a physical establishment based on arrival predictions or arrival trackingG06Q10/06In the scheme476
G06Q30/06311Recommending goods or services based on purchase or browsing historyG06Q30/00In the scheme442
G06Q10/0672Enterprise or organisation modelling using organisation reporting relationshipsG06Q10/06In the scheme431
Match: Through its tools
The classification names the equipment or technology the capability draws on, not the capability. The count says how much is being invented for it, not how well it is done. Counts business software for commerce and enterprise operations as a sign of digital tools being built for firms; it does not measure how many firms or households use them. The crosswalk is a first pass that nobody has reviewed.

Other capabilities in Technology Adoption & Diffusion