China leads drone patent volume but US matches quality as start-ups drive innovation: study

Chinese and US firms are “neck-and-neck” in the quality battle for the next generation of drone patents, despite China having a lead in volume, a study published on Thursday shows. Chinese companies accounted for 44 per cent of the world’s drone patent filings in 2024, against 17 per cent for American firms, according to a report published by LexisNexis. Measured by value, however, US drone patents were on a par with China’s, leaving the two countries roughly even in total global patent asset...