Report: Asian innovators taking global lead

The number of innovators from China on the list has increased each year, said Song Jianfu, general manager of consumer, manufacturing and technology markets at Clarivate China.

"We are confident there will be more Chinese innovators in the list in the future," Song said.

Data from the World Intellectual Property Organization showed in 2021 the number of China's patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty reached 69,500, up 0.9 percent year-on-year, ranking top globally for three years straight.

Asia is increasingly developing in innovation capacity as more businesses apply for patents globally. It is hoped that there will be more emerging businesses planning their patents in the overseas market rather than just industry giants, the executive said.

Businesses should attach importance to technological convergence and pay more effort to research and development to achieve better innovation, he said, suggesting that commercial brains make strategies based on accurate analysis of markets and rivals.

Launched in 2012, the Top 100 Global Innovators report recognizes the world's innovators based on Clarivate's database Derwent World Patents Index and Derwent Patents Citation Index, providing business insiders with the latest information on markets and IP.