Key Details
The WIPO IPC–Green Technology Concordance: A Harmonized Classification Methodology introduces the WIPO Green Technology Inventory for Statistical Use (WIPO–GTIS). It provides a common method for identifying green inventions in patent databases.
Feature | What WIPO–GTIS Introduces |
|---|---|
Coverage | Five sectors and 36 technology fields, spanning clean energy, storage, mobility, pollution control, agriculture and industry |
Classification method | Uses only International Patent Classification (IPC) codes, without requiring keyword searches |
Selection principle | Prioritises technologies recognised by at least two of five existing classification systems |
Quality check | AI reviewed samples of 100 patents per technology field to identify overly broad or imprecise mappings |
Intended use | Designed for statistical analysis and international comparison, not patent examination |
The framework draws on classifications developed by Chinese, European and Japanese patent offices, the OECD and WIPO. Its IPC-only design allows researchers and statistical agencies to apply the same method across patent databases without specialised search tools.
Green Patenting Has Expanded, but Is Increasingly Concentrated
Applying the new framework to data for 2003–2023, WIPO finds that global green-technology patent families:
increased 3.7-fold, from approximately 111,400 to 412,300;
grew at an average annual rate of 6.8%; and
rose from 13.7% to 18.2% of all patent families.
The largest fields during 2021–2023 were smart energy, grids and transmission, battery storage and air-pollution control.
Growth has also become heavily concentrated. China accounted for 71.9% of green patent families in 2023, compared with 7.8% in 2003. It generated an estimated 95.7% of the net global increase over these two decades.
India Shows Relative Specialisation in Two Fields
India records a positive Relative Specialisation Index (RSI) in:
Electric vehicles: 0.44, behind Sweden, Germany and France among the 15 origins compared; and
Biopesticides and biocontrol: 0.74, behind Brazil and Israel.
These figures indicate that the two fields occupy a larger share of India’s patent portfolio than their corresponding share globally. They do not mean that India files the third- or fourth-largest number of patents in these technologies.
The results nevertheless identify areas where Indian research, industrial policy and domestic demand may be directing inventive activity—particularly electric mobility and sustainable crop protection.
What Is the Relative Specialisation Index?
The Relative Specialisation Index (RSI) compares the importance of a technology within one country’s patent portfolio with its importance in global patenting.
A positive score signals above-average portfolio concentration. It does not measure the number, quality or commercial success of patents, nor whether the technologies are manufactured or deployed domestically.
The Framework Does Not Capture Every Green Innovation
Reliance on IPC codes improves comparability but also creates gaps. WIPO–GTIS excludes precision agriculture and general energy-efficient devices because existing codes cannot separate them reliably from conventional technologies. It captures sustainable aviation and rail technologies only partially, while some carbon-capture codes also cover broader gas-separation processes.
Patent data themselves offer only one view of innovation: not every invention is patented, and patents differ substantially in economic and technical significance.
Policy Relevance
For India, WIPO–GTIS can support a more disciplined assessment of green innovation:
Benchmark the portfolio: Track whether specialisation in EVs and biopesticides is deepening and whether new strengths are emerging.
Connect patents with production: Compare patent trends with domestic ownership, manufacturing scale, licensing, investment and deployment.
Test policy effectiveness: Examine whether public R&D support, industrial incentives and procurement are producing commercially useful technologies.
Look beyond patent counts: Incorporate patent citations, ownership, international filings and environmental outcomes before claiming technological leadership.
Watch classification gaps: India’s activity in areas such as precision agriculture may be understated because these technologies are not separately identifiable under the framework.
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