WIPO Report Suggests "Signs of Recovery" in IP Filings and Innovation

A new report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) analyzing IP trends in 2008 and 2009 suggests that innovative activity and demand for IP rights dipped during the global economic crisis, but began to recover this year.

As the world economy started to slow sharply in 2008, an estimated 1.91 million patent, 3.3 million trademark, and 660,000 industrial design applications were filed across the world. Compared to 2007, these figures represent a slowdown in the growth of patent and industrial design applications and an actual decline in the number of trademark applications . . . Beyond 2009, there are grounds for optimism as patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system and international trademark registrations filed under the Madrid system have returned to growth.

Data on R&D expenditure compiled for the report show that, on average, companies started to reduce their R&D budgets from early 2009 onward.  While 2007-08 registered a slowdown in R&D expenditure, 2008-09 showed an actual decrease (-1.7%) in R&D expenditures.

On the patent side of things,

There was considerable growth in demand for energy-related patents – fuel cells, solar, wind and geothermal energy. Patent applications filed under the PCT System for those technologies increased from 584 applications in 2000 to 3,424 applications in 2009.

There was a slowdown in the growth of patent grants in 2008. The total number of grants across the world is estimated at 780,000 in 2008, representing a 0.6% increase from 2007. The slowdown is largely explained by a substantial drop in grants at the patent offices of the Republic of Korea (-32.5%). Without the substantial growth of grants in China, there would have been a contraction of total worldwide patent grants in 2008.

Around 6.7 million patents were in force across the world in 2008, representing a 5.3% increase over 2007. Patents in force in China and the Republic of Korea saw double-digit growth at 24% and 10.1%, respectively. Residents of Japan and the US owned around 48% of total patents in force in 2008

With regard to individual patent office growth rates,

China = 8.5% (2009), 18.2% (2008)

EPO = -7.9% (2009), 3.8% (2008)

France = -3.6% (2009), -2.4% (2008)

Germany = -4.5% (2009), 2.3% (2008)

Japan = -10.8% (2009), -1.3% (2008)

Republic of Korea = -5.0% (2009), 1.1% (2008)

Russian Federation = -7.8% (2009), 6.1% (2008)

United Kingdom = -3.9% (2009), -6.5% (2008)

United States of America = 0.0% (2009), 0.0% (2008)

To download the complete 145-page report, plus numerous other statistics, click here (link)

See also

WIPO press release: "Signs of Recovery Emerge after Economic Crisis Hits Innovation & IP Filings" (link)

WIPO Reports 4.5% Drop in PCT Filings For 2009

WIPO reported today that, despite the economic turmoil in 2009, PCT applications experienced a mere 4.5% drop for the year - provisional data indicates that 155,900 applications were filed in 2009 as compared to the nearly 164,000 applications filed in 2008.

The U.S. continues to be a top user of PCT applications, filing just under a third of all international applications in 2009.  The top 10 filers include:

(1)  United States -- 45,790 applications
(2)  Japan -- 29,827 applications
(3)  Germany -- 16,736 applications
(4)  Republic of Korea -- 8,066 applications
(5)  China -- 7,946 applications
(6)  France -- 7,166 applications
(7)  United Kingdom -- 5,320 applications
(8)  The Netherlands -- 4,471 applications
(9)  Switzerland -- 3,688 applications
(10)  Sweden -- 3,667 applications

While these rankings have remained somewhat consistent over the years, the recent economic turmoil appears to have hit different countries in different ways.  Specifically, filings from Western industrialized countries experienced significant drops:

Israel: -17.2%
Canada: -11.7%
U.S.A.: -11.4%
Sweden: -11.3%
Australia: -7.5%
Italy: -5.8%
United Kingdom: -3.5%
Finland: -2.2%

In contrast, international patent filings in a number of East Asian countries continued to enjoy positive growth:

China: +29.7%
Japan: +3.6%
Republic of Korea: +2.1%

Declines and advances in PCT filings also varied by technology area. The greatest declines related to computer technology (12,560 applications, down 10.6% on 2008); pharmaceuticals (12,200 applications, down 8.0% on 2008) and medical technology (12,091 applications, down 5.9% on 2008). The largest growth rates were experienced in micro-structural and nano-technology (+10.2%), semiconductors (+10%) and thermal processes and apparatus (+ 7.2%).


-- Read WIPO's press release and report, "International Patent Filings Dip in 2009 amid Global Economic Downturn" (link)

WIPO Releases 2008 Worldwide Patent Report

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has released "The World Patent Report: A Statistical Review," which is an annual publication, and the 2008 edition is the third edition in the series. The reports are part of a continuing effort at WIPO to "improve statistical information on patent activity covering as many countries as possible across the world and to develop and provide new indicators that are relevant to current policy issues."

Some notable statistics:

• Patent applications filed across the world are estimated to be 1.76 million, representing a 4.9% increase from the previous year. The number of filings worldwide by applicants from China, the Republic of Korea and the United States of America increased by 32.1%, 6.6% and 6.7% respectively.

• Although the number of patent applications filed across the world has increased at a steady pace, the rate of increase is less than the rate of increase observed for other economic indicators such as GDP and trade.

• Approximately 727,000 patents were granted across the world. Similar to patent filings, patent grants are concentrated in a small number of countries. Applicants from Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea and Germany received 73% of total patent grants worldwide. Between 2000 and 2006, the number of patents granted to applicants from China and the Republic of Korea grew by 26.5% and 23.2% a year, respectively (average annual growth rate).

• Approximately 6.1 million patents were in force in 2006. The largest number of patents in force were in the United States of America (1.8 million in 2006). However, the majority of patents in force were owned by applicants from Japan.

• In 2005, a large number of patent filings were filed across the world in computer technology (144,594), telecommunications (116,770), and electrical machinery (121,350) technologies. Between 2001 and 2005, patent filings in computer technology, optics, and semiconductors grew by 5.3%, 5.0% and 4.9%, a year, respectively. There was a modest increase in pharmaceuticals filings (1.7%) and a decrease in biotechnology filings (-2.7%).

View the on-line report here (link)

Download a PDF copy here (link)

WIPO Releases Annual PCT Statistics for 2006

WIPO recently reported that PCT filings have seen continuous growth with a record 145,300 applications filed in 2006, representing a 6.4% growth over the previous year. The most remarkable growth rates came from countries in north east Asia for the third year running and represented over a quarter (25.3%) of all international applications under the PCT.

The Republic of Korea, which experienced 26.6% growth in 2006, overtook the UK and France to become the 4th biggest country of origin of PCT filings, and applicants from China, whose use grew by a whopping 56.8%, dislodged Switzerland and Sweden to take the position of 8th largest country of origin:

• United States -- 49,555 (+6.1%)
• Japan -- 26,906 (+8.3%)
• Germany -- 16,929 (+5.8%)
• Republic of Korea -- 5,935 (+26.6%)
• France -- 5,902 (+2.8%)
• United Kingdom -- 5,045 (-0.8%)
• Netherlands -- 4,393 (-2.7%)
• China -- 3,910 (+56.8%)
• Switzerland -- 3,403 (+3.8%)
• Sweden -- 3,123 (+8.7%)

The top 10 PCT applicants for 2006 are:

• KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V. (NL) -- 2,495
• MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. (JP) -- 2,344
• SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT (DE) -- 1,480
• NOKIA CORPORATION (FI) -- 1,036
• ROBERT BOSCH GMBH (DE) -- 962
• 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY (US) -- 727
• BASF AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT (DE) -- 714
• TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA (JP) -- 704
• INTEL CORPORATION (US) -- 690
• MOTOROLA, INC. (US) -- 637

Among the 20 top filing companies, seven were from the USA, four from Japan and three from Germany. Several new companies joined the top 20 list, including Huawei (China), up 24 places to 13th, Fujitsu (Japan), up 9 places to 15th, LG Electronics (Republic of Korea) up 12 to 16th, and Hewlett-Packard (USA) up 5 to 18th.

The greatest number of PCT applications published in 2006 were in telecommunications (10.5%), pharmaceuticals (10.4%), and information technology (10.4%). The fastest growing technology areas are semiconductors (28% increase), information technology (22%) and pharmaceuticals (21%).

To view the complete report, click here.