Technologies are spreading across borders faster than ever, yet their benefits remain unevenly shared. This World Intellectual Property Report draws on historical data on a wide range of technologies and case studies in agriculture, clean energy, and digital sectors to uncover persistent gaps in use.
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Executive summary
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Image: WIPO 1 How do new technologies diffuse?
Technology diffusion is the process by which new ideas spread from early inventors to widespread users, and shapes economic development. This chapter highlights how diffusion is neither automatic nor uniform, and that certain efforts must be made to transform the technology into real world impact. Drawing on historical data on a wide range of technologies, it offers two insights: new innovations spread faster, and the technology use gap between advanced economies and others is narrowing for more recent technologies.
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Image: WIPO 2 Global trends of technological knowledge diffusion
This chapter explores how technological knowledge travels across borders. It draws on patent data, scientific citations, and breakthrough technology trajectories, to reveal that knowledge now diffuses faster than ever, yet remains highly concentrated among a small group of advanced economies. Digitalization has narrowed gaps between national and global knowledge flows, yet innovation leaders like the US, Western Europe, and East Asia still dominate both the creation and absorption of new technologies. Examining channels such as trade, talent mobility, science networks, and IP, the chapter shows that diffusion is accelerating but uneven.
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Image: WIPO 3 Technology diffusion in agriculture
Technological diffusion in agriculture can transform farms and livelihoods worldwide. This chapter focuses on two agricultural technologies, genetically modified crops and precision agriculture technologies, to identify factors that facilitate their diffusion and barriers that slow their adoption across countries and farms. The chapter shows that while modern tools can boost productivity, profits, and sustainability, uneven access risks widening gaps between countries and between large and small farms.
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Image: WIPO 4 Diffusion of clean technologies: patterns, mechanisms and future challenges
Clean technologies are reshaping the global energy landscape, but uneven adoption across economies is slowing the fight against climate change. This chapter examines solar panels, electric vehicles, and hydrogen technologies to explore why some scale quickly while others lag. It highlights how factors such as cost, modular design, industrial policy, infrastructure, finance, and political economy can accelerate or hinder diffusion. The analysis shows that speeding the spread of clean technologies depends not only on innovation itself, but also on aligning markets, strengthening institutions, and fostering global cooperation.
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Image: WIPO 5 Connect, adopt, absorb: digital technology diffusion
Digital technologies such as submarine cables, broadband networks, data-driven platforms and AI have become the backbone of modern economies. Yet, not all economies realize the promise of digital transformation. This chapter traces why connectivity and digital capabilities advance rapidly in some regions while others remain constrained by infrastructure gaps, affordability barriers, skills shortages, and regulatory hurdles. It shows that unlocking inclusive digital diffusion requires more than new technologies—it demands coordinated investments, balanced IP governance, and policies that ensure all countries and communities can participate in the opportunities of the digital age.
- Acronyms
- Glossary
- Technical notes
- Bibliography
- Copyright