Core of ChatGPT 'Super Large AI'... 28 Times Increase in Patent Applications Over 10 Years

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Patent competition among countries around the world to secure the super-large-scale artificial intelligence technology, which forms the basis of the conversational AI ChatGPT (CHAT GPT), is fierce.

Super-large-scale artificial intelligence refers to AI with an enormous number of parameters (synapses of human brain cells) determined through machine learning, and patent applications based on this have increased 28 times over the past 10 years.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 19th, patent applications related to super-large-scale artificial intelligence filed in the five major intellectual property countries (Korea, the United States, China, Europe, and Japan) increased from 530 cases in 2011 to 14,848 cases in 2020.

This means that related patent applications increased by an average of 44.8% annually. In particular, patent applications related to super-large-scale artificial intelligence from 2016 to 2020 increased by an average of 61.3% annually, significantly exceeding the 10-year average annual growth rate (44.8%).

This is interpreted as a remarkable phenomenon due to active research on artificial intelligence following the AlphaGo shock in 2016.

Trend Graph of Ultra-Large AI Patent Applications (by Nationality). Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

In terms of the number of super-large-scale artificial intelligence patent applications by country, the United States ranked first with 15,035 cases (35.6%), followed by China with 13,103 cases (31.0%), Japan with 4,906 cases (11.6%), and Korea with 4,785 cases (11.3%).

Among these, it is noteworthy that Korea (89.7%) and China (79.3%) show steep annual growth rates.

In Korea, the number of super-large-scale artificial intelligence patent applications, which was only 6 cases per year in 2011, increased 319 times to 1,912 cases per year in 2020. Through this, the Korean Intellectual Property Office emphasizes that Korea surpassed Japan in annual application numbers starting from 2019.

The technology development trends of super-large-scale artificial intelligence mainly consist of ▲ data generation technology (69.3%) ▲ learning models (25.8%) ▲ specialized services (16.4%).

Among these, patent applications related to 'learning models,' which can be considered the core technology of super-large-scale artificial intelligence, showed an average annual growth rate of 75.9% from 2011 to 2020 and 126.3% from 2016 to 2020, indicating active research and development in this field worldwide.

In the ranking of super-large-scale artificial intelligence patent applications by global big tech companies, Samsung ranked first with 1,213 cases (2.9%). It was followed by IBM with 928 cases (2.2%), Google with 824 cases (2.0%), Microsoft with 731 cases (1.7%), and Baidu with 572 cases (1.4%).

Patent applications related to super-large-scale artificial intelligence tend to be 'company'-centered (78.7%). In fact, in the share of companies among patent applicants by country, the United States accounts for 91.2%, Japan 95.4%, and Korea's company share increased from 50% in 2011 to 73.6% in 2020.

Park Jae-il, head of the AI Big Data Examination Division at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, "Super-large-scale artificial intelligence is a technology with a significant impact on upstream and downstream industries and is considered a new growth engine necessary for Korea to take a step forward. The Korean Intellectual Property Office plans to continuously provide patent trend analysis necessary for our companies' new technology development and patent strategy establishment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.