International Patent Filings Dip in 2009 amid Global Economic Downturn

Geneva, February 8, 2010
PR/2010/632
International patent filings under WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) fell by 4.5% in 2009 with sharper than average declines experienced by some industrialized countries and growth in a number of East Asian countries. Provisional data indicates that 155,900 international patent applications were filed in 2009 as compared to the nearly 164,000 applications filed in 2008.
"The decline in PCT filings is not as sharp as originally anticipated – last year's results bring us back to just fewer than 2007 levels, when 159,886 international applications were filed," said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. "Interestingly, the rate of decline in international filings is lower than that experienced in some national contexts. This is an indication of a broad recognition that it makes good business sense, whatever the economic conditions, to continue to protect commercially valuable technologies internationally."
International patent filings in a number of East Asian countries continued to enjoy positive growth in spite of the challenging global economic conditions. Japan, the second largest user of the PCT, experienced a 3.6% rate of growth with 29,827 applications; the Republic of Korea (ROK), ranked fourth largest user of the system, experienced 2.1% growth with 8,066 applications; and China became the fifth largest PCT user with a strong growth rate of 29.7%, representing some 7,946 international applications.
International patent filings experienced a sharper than average decline in a number of industrialized countries. For example, the filing rate dropped by 11.4% in the USA and by 11.2% in Germany in 2009. Declines were also experienced in the United Kingdom (-3.5%), Switzerland (-1.6%), Sweden (-11.3%), Italy (-5.8%), Canada (-11.7%), Finland (-2.2%), Australia (-7.5%) and Israel (-17.2%).
The United States of America (USA) maintained its top ranking (annex 2), filing just under a third of all international applications in 2009 (45,790), followed by Japan (+3.6%, 29,827 applications), Germany (-11.2% or 16,736 applications), ROK (+2.1%, 8,066 applications), China (29.7%, 7,946 applications), France (+1.6%, 7166 applications), United Kingdom (-3.5% or 5,320 applications), the Netherlands (+3.0% or 4,471 applications), Switzerland (-1.6% or 3,688 applications) and Sweden (-11.3% or 3,667 applications).
Top Applicants:
Panasonic Corporation (Japan) returned to the top spot in the list of PCT applicants, nudging Hawaii Technologies, Co., Ltd. (China) into second place. Panasonic Corporation had 1,891 PCT applications published in 2009; China's Hawaii Technologies Co. Ltd. had 1,847, followed by Robert Bosch GMBH (Germany, 1586 applications), Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Netherlands, 1,295 applications) and Qualcomm Incorporated (USA, 1280 applications). Four Japanese companies, Panasonic Corporation (ranked 1st), NEC Corporation (ranked 8th), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (ranked 9th) and Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (ranked 10th) featured in the list of top 10 largest filers.
The University of California accounted for the largest number of applications published in the category of educational institutions. Most top-filing universities, however, experienced declines in the number of international patent filings in 2009.
Developing Countries:
The largest number of international applications received from developing countries in 2009 came from the Republic of Korea (8,066) and China (7,946) followed by India (761), Singapore (594), Brazil (480), South Africa (389), Turkey (371), Malaysia, (218), Mexico (185) and Barbados (96).
Developing countries make up over 78% of the membership of the PCT, representing 112 of the 142 countries that have signed up to the treaty and accounted for 14% of the total number of filings (with China and ROK accounting for 10%).
"In implementing the WIPO Development Agenda, WIPO is working very closely with member states to develop and roll-out projects that will enable all countries to reap the benefits of innovation and the knowledge economy" said Mr. Gurry. "In this context, maximizing participation in the PCT is a key priority. Membership of the PCT offers an opportunity for countries to bring their national patenting processes in line with international standards helping to create a more attractive investment environment. It further offers local companies a cost-effective means of obtaining patent protection in multiple countries" he added.
Mr. Samir Rahman
On & in behalf of
Patent and Law firm ‘IPPro’