China last year became the world leader in international patent filings, unseating the United States which had held the top spot for more than four decades, the UN said Tuesday. The World Intellectual Property Organisation said that in 2019, China had filed 58,990 international patent applications, compared to 57,840 for the United States. "China's rapid growth to become the top filer of international patent applications via WIPO underlines a long-term shift in the locus of innovation towards the East," agency chief Francis Gurry said in a statement. nl/rjm/jh