IP Australia’s 2026 Australian Intellectual Property Report shows that trademark filings reached a record 97,345 in 2025, up 13.3%, while applications by Australian residents rose 15.1% to 55,913. Domestic standard complete patent filings also increased, from 2,578 to 2,810, a gain of 9.0%. Taken together, the patent, trademark and design data suggest that Australian businesses are making more deliberate use of IP to support branding, technology protection and product differentiation.
The growth was not evenly distributed across filing origins. Standard patent applications from the United States fell 5.0%, while those from China rose 13.4%, and cross-border co-applications declined. The pattern supports a broader reading of a more fragmented global innovation system, with applicants becoming more selective about where and how they protect assets. Companies entering Australia should therefore avoid treating the country as a routine extension of a global filing programme and instead align patent, trademark and design timing with market entry, supply-chain exposure and product life cycles.
