World Intellectual Property Report 2026: Technology on the Move

On February 17, 2026, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) officially released The World Intellectual Property Report 2026: Technology on the Move. Based on an in-depth analysis of 250 years of historical data on technology use as well as 50 years of big data on patents and scientific publications, the report points out that the global diffusion of new technologies has reached an unprecedented speed, and the gap among countries in terms of innovation-use intensity is rapidly narrowing, reshaping global economic development patterns and opportunities in ways never seen before.

The findings of the Report reveal significant shifts in the global technology dissemination process:

From "decades of lag" to "real-time, zero-delay diffusion". In the 19th century, disruptive technologies such as the telegraph and automobiles took decades to penetrate global markets. Today, however, enabled by the highly interconnected digital economy and mature infrastructure, the radiation of innovations is almost instantaneous. Take generative artificial intelligence (e.g., ChatGPT) as an example: cutting-edge digital technologies of this kind can benefit end users in almost all countries around the world within just a few days.

Cross-border knowledge flows accelerate, and geographic barriers dissolve. Data analysis of patent citations shows that over the past half-century, the rate of international knowledge flow has doubled. By 2020, the time lag between domestic and international patent citations had essentially been reduced to zero, demonstrating that geographic distance is no longer a major obstacle to the dissemination of human knowledge. Nevertheless, the Report also notes that it is estimated to take about ten years for basic scientific discoveries to be transformed into genuine industrial innovation.

Although barriers to technology circulation are being broken down, the global landscape of "innovation leadership" remains highly concentrated. The Report points out that breakthrough innovation is still largely dominated by the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. At the same time, however, China is strongly emerging as a frontrunner in "deep tech," has significantly increased its international openness in scientific research, and is playing an increasingly critical role in global technology diffusion.

To help economies better translate "technology diffusion" into tangible economic growth, WIPO explicitly identifies in the Report four core factors that determine the speed of technology dissemination:

① Technology characteristics. Technologies that are modular, low-cost, and have low infrastructure dependency (e.g., digital applications) diffuse the fastest; by contrast, capital-intensive technologies (e.g., clean energy storage) diffuse more slowly.

② Information flow. The prevalence of digital platforms and AI has greatly reduced the cost of technology learning and accelerated the localisation of technologies.

③ Absorptive capacity. A country's level of education, talent skills reserve, and scientific research capability determine whether it can truly "digest" and master external technologies.

④ Public policy and the IP system. Reasonable regulatory frameworks, interoperability standards, and a balanced IP protection system are catalysts for large-scale technology application.

As WIPO Director General Daren Tang emphasised, in an era where geography is no longer a constraint on knowledge flows, countries must rely on prudent policy choices to truly translate the rapid diffusion of technology into their own development momentum.

【Attachment】World Intellectual Property Report 2026: Technology on the Move