An analysis conducted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) reveals a pronounced duopoly between the United States and China in global quantum computing patent competition. The KIPO’s ten-year study, spanning 2014 to 2023, identified 9,162 total quantum computing patent applications worldwide, with the U.S. securing the largest share at 4,187 cases, representing 45.7% of the total. China followed with 2,279 applications (24.9%), demonstrating the fastest annual growth rate globally. This assessment of patent data highlights the emerging industrialization of quantum computing technology and the strategic importance of linking research and development with patent acquisition for domestic leadership.
Global Quantum Computing Patent Landscape
A recent analysis of quantum computing patents from 2014-2023 reveals a strong duopoly between the United States and China. The U.S. holds the largest share with 4,187 applications (45.7%), while China follows with 2,279 cases (24.9%). Notably, China’s patent applications are growing at 2.2 times the annual rate of others, indicating rapid advancement. Globally, 9,162 quantum computing patent applications were filed over the decade, highlighting increasing international investment in this next-generation technology.
Korea’s presence in the global quantum computing patent landscape is limited, with only 248 applications (2.7%) over the ten-year period, ranking sixth. Although Korea’s applications grew at an annual rate of 58.5% – the third-highest after China and Israel – its overall share remains small. Europe, Japan, and Canada all demonstrate significantly higher numbers of patent applications, with Europe holding 1,127 cases.
The leading applicants are dominated by U.S. and Chinese companies. IBM filed the most patents with 1,120, followed by Google with 680. Origin Quantum of China ranked third with 605. No Korean companies appear in the top 10. KIPO emphasizes a strategic link between research, development, and patent acquisition is crucial for Korean companies to gain leadership as quantum computing commercializes.
Korea’s Quantum Computing Patent Status & Growth
Korea currently holds a small share of the quantum computing patent landscape. Analysis from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) reveals Korean applications comprised less than 3% of the 9,162 global filings between 2014 and 2023, totaling 248 cases. This places Korea sixth globally, behind the U.S. (45.7%, 4,187 cases), China (24.9%, 2,279 cases), Europe, Japan, and Canada. Despite this relatively low number, Korea’s patent applications demonstrated an average annual growth of 58.5%.
While the U.S. and China dominate, showing a clear duopoly, China is experiencing the fastest growth with applications increasing 2.2 times annually. KIPO’s analysis also highlights the leading applicants: IBM with 1,120 patents and Google with 680. Notably, Chinese companies like Origin Quantum, Baidu, and Tencent are also rapidly expanding their patent portfolios, with applications doubling each year. No Korean companies currently rank among the top 10 global applicants.
KIPO recognizes a recent increase in patent applications related to the commercialization of quantum computing technology, indicating the field is entering an early stage of industrialization. The organization stresses the importance of a strategic approach, linking research and development efforts with proactive patent acquisition, for Korean companies to establish leadership in this expanding industry. This is especially critical given the current dominance of U.S. and Chinese entities.
The patent landscape reflects underlying technological diversity, particularly in the physical implementations of qubits. Leading research efforts are split among several modalities, including superconducting circuits—utilized by major players like IBM and Google—and trapped ions, which are renowned for their high coherence times and qubit fidelity. Furthermore, photonics-based systems, which use entangled particles of light, represent a distinct approach that promises long-distance quantum communication networks, diversifying the global technological pathways.
Beyond hardware architecture, the intellectual property race encompasses foundational quantum algorithms. The commercial value of quantum computation hinges not merely on stable qubits, but on the development of algorithms that can exploit quantum mechanics to solve classically intractable problems. Shor’s algorithm, famous for factoring large numbers, and Grover’s algorithm, for searching unsorted databases, remain cornerstones, but optimizing these for near-term, noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices is the critical current focus of patent filings.
A major technical hurdle underlying the current patent competition is quantum error correction (QEC). Unlike classical bits, qubits are extremely susceptible to environmental decoherence, leading to computational errors. Patents increasingly target sophisticated QEC codes, such as surface codes, which encode logical qubits across multiple physical qubits. The ability to implement fault-tolerant quantum computation (FTQC) remains the ultimate benchmark of national quantum leadership.
Furthermore, the industrialization of quantum computing necessitates the development of sophisticated control layers. These patents often relate to cryogenic engineering, precision microwave pulse generation, and quantum networking protocols. The transition from purely theoretical research to deployable, scaled systems demands deep expertise in materials science and advanced electrical engineering, widening the scope of patented innovation beyond the core quantum processor unit.
for domestic companies to secure leadership in the early expansion stage of the quantum industry, a strategic approach linking research and development with patent acquisition is important.
Jung Jae-hwan
