Record Year for International Patent Filings with Significant Growth from Northeast Asia
Geneva,
February 8, 2007
PR/2007/476
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the cornerstone of the international patent system, has since it began in 1978, seen continuous growth with a record 145,300 1 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. In 2006, the list was topped by applications from the United States of America (USA), Japan, Germany, Republic of Korea and France.
“The number of international patent applications continues to rise with impressive growth from north east Asian countries. Increasingly developing country economies are capitalizing on the tools of the intellectual property system for wealth creation,” said Mr. Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General who oversees the work of the PCT. "Innovation has been traditionally dominated by Europe and North America. New centers of innovation – in particular in northeast Asia - are emerging and this is transforming both the geography of the patent system and of future global economic growth” he added.
The Republic of Korea, which experienced 26.6% growth in 2006 as compared to 2005, overtook the United Kingdom and France to become the 4 th biggest country of origin of PCT filings, and applicants from China, whose use grew by 56.8%, dislodged Switzerland and Sweden to take the position of 8 th largest country of origin.
With just under 50,000 PCT applications, inventors and industry from the United States of America represented 34.1% (a 6.1% increase over 2005) of all applications in 2006. Applicants from Japan, who unseated their German counterparts in 2003 for the number two spot, maintained their second place position with 18.5% of the total number of applications, representing an 8.3% increase. Inventors and industry from Germany held third position with 11.7% of all applications in 2006, representing a 5.8% increase, followed by users in the Republic of Korea (4.1% of all applications and a 26.6% increase) and France (4.1% of all applications and a 2.8% increase). Among the fifteen top filing countries, others to achieve double-digit rates of growth were Italy (11 th highest filer, with a rate of growth of 16.1% in 2006) and Israel (15 th highest filer, with a rate of growth of 18.3% in 2006).
Top Applicants
The top 5 applicants remain unchanged. The Dutch multinational Philips Electronics N.V. was again the largest applicant (2,495 applications published in 2006), followed by Matsushita (Japan) (2,344), Siemens (Germany) (1,480) , Nokia (Finland) (1,036), and Bosch (Germany) (962). These were followed by 3M (USA) (727), BASF (Germany) (714), Toyota (Japan) (704),Intel (USA) (690), and Motorola (USA) (637). Among the 20 top filing companies, seven were from the USA, four from Japan and three from Germany.
Several companies join the top 20 list, including Huawei (China), up 24 places to 13 th, Fujitsu (Japan), up 9 places to 15 th, LG Electronics (Republic of Korea) up 12 to 16 th, and Hewlett-Packard (USA) up 5 to 18 th.
Developing Countries
International patent applications received from developing countries in 2006 saw a 27.6% increase as compared to 2005, representing 8.2% of all international patent applications filed. This is largely due to the filings from the Republic of Korea (5,935)and China (3,910), followed by India (627), Singapore (402), South Africa (349), Brazil (265) and Mexico (150). Developing countries make up 79% of the membership of the PCT, representing 106 of the 136 countries that have signed up to the treaty to date.
The top ten users of the PCT from developing countries include: Huawei Technologies (China), LG Electronics (Republic of Korea), Samsung Electronics, (Republic of Korea ), LG Chem (Republic of Korea), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (Republic of Korea), ZTE Corporation (China), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (Singapore), Ranbaxy Laboratories (India), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (India) and NHN Corporation (Republic of Korea).
Fields of Technology
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%).
The main fields of technology in which PCT applications were published in 2006 are broken down according to a classification based on the International Patent Classification (IPC) - a system designed to facilitate the retrieval of technical information found in patent documents - and are outlined in Annex I. (for further information on IPC codes, please consult: https://www.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/).
Other Developments
Applicants are increasingly resorting to electronic filing of their international applications with just over a third (31%) of applications now filed electronically. A further 25% are filed using PCT-EASY software (electronic bibliographic data with the patent specification on paper). The remaining 44% are still filed entirely on paper.
The WIPO PCT receiving office recorded a 3.3% increase in the number of international applications filed directly with them in 2006. This represents 5.6% of all PCT applications received in 2006. The PCT receiving office provides applicants with an option to file their international applications directly with WIPO, rather than through the intermediary of a national or regional office.
In addition, WIPO has improved productivity in the operations of the PCT through the implementation of information technologies and outsourcing of functions such as a proportion of the translation work. All PCT applications are now scanned on receipt at WIPO and processed electronically. With these changes, WIPO is able to contain costs and process the increased volume of PCT applications while keeping staff levels relatively constant.
Paper publication has been discontinued and PCT publication now takes place electronically via WIPO’s PatentScope portal ( https://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/). PatentScope provides easy access to published PCT international applications and, through its advanced search engine and graphics features, provides easy access to the technological information disclosed via the international patent system.
Background
The PCT offers inventors and industry an advantageous route for obtaining patent protection internationally. By filing one “international” patent application under the PCT, protection of an invention can be sought simultaneously in each of a large number of countries. Both applicants and patent offices of PCT member states benefit from the uniform formality requirements, the international search and preliminary examination reports, and the centralized international publication provided by the PCT system. The national patent granting procedure and the related expenses are postponed, in the majority of cases, by up to 18 months (or even longer in the case of some offices) as compared with the traditional patent system. By this time, the applicant will have received important value-added information concerning the likelihood of obtaining patent protection as well as potential commercial interest in that invention.
The growth rate in the filing of PCT applications has been especially significant during the last nine years. It took 18 years from the beginning of PCT operations in 1978 to reach 250,000 total applications, but only four years to double that figure (500,000), and another four to double it again (1,000,000).
For further information, contact the Media Relations & Public Affairs Section at WIPO: Tel: +41 22 338 8161 or 338 95 47; e-mail: publicinf@wipo.int.
Annex I
PCT International ApplicationsTop 15 Countries of Origin | |||||||
2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 estimate | 2006 percent | 2006 growth | |
United States of America | 41,296 | 41,028 | 43,350 | 46,697 | 49,555 | 34.1% | 6.1% |
Japan | 14,063 | 17,414 | 20,263 | 24,841 | 26,906 | 18.5% | 8.3% |
Germany | 14,326 | 14,662 | 15,218 | 16,000 | 16,929 | 11.7% | 5.8% |
Republic of Korea | 2,520 | 2,949 | 3,558 | 4,688 | 5,935 | 4.1% | 26.6% |
France | 5,089 | 5,171 | 5,185 | 5,741 | 5,902 | 4.1% | 2.8% |
United Kingdom | 5,376 | 5,206 | 5,026 | 5,085 | 5,045 | 3.5% | -0.8% |
Netherlands | 3,977 | 4,479 | 4,285 | 4,516 | 4,393 | 3.0% | -2.7% |
China | 1,018 | 1,295 | 1,706 | 2,493 | 3,910 | 2.7% | 56.8% |
Switzerland | 2,755 | 2,861 | 2,899 | 3,277 | 3,403 | 2.3% | 3.8% |
Sweden | 2,990 | 2,612 | 2,850 | 2,873 | 3,123 | 2.1% | 8.7% |
Italy | 1,982 | 2,163 | 2,189 | 2,345 | 2,723 | 1.9% | 16.1% |
Canada | 2,260 | 2,270 | 2,105 | 2,320 | 2,532 | 1.7% | 9.1% |
Australia | 1,759 | 1,680 | 1,837 | 1,998 | 2,139 | 1.5% | 7.0% |
Finland | 1,762 | 1,557 | 1,672 | 1,890 | 1,915 | 1.3% | 1.3% |
Israel | 1,174 | 1,130 | 1,227 | 1,458 | 1,725 | 1.2% | 18.3% |
All Others | 8,045 | 8,722 | 9,254 | 10,278 | 9,165 | 6.3% | -10.8% |
Total | 110,392 | 115,199 | 122,624 | 136,500 | 145,300 | 100.0% | 6.4% |
Main fields of technology in which PCT applications were published in 2006
Technical Field | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Increase Compared with 2005 | |
I | Electricity - Electronics | ||||||
1 | Electrical devices, electrical engineering, electrical energy | 6,973 | 7,365 | 7,568 | 8,768 | 9,806 | 12% |
2 | Audio-visual technology | 5,391 | 6,057 | 6,074 | 6,713 | 7,313 | 9% |
3 | Telecommunications | 11,166 | 10,821 | 10,441 | 11,670 | 13,465 | 15% |
4 | Information technology | 11,095 | 9,917 | 9,531 | 10,992 | 13,375 | 22% |
II | Instruments | ||||||
5 | Semiconductors | 3,612 | 4,051 | 4,109 | 4,719 | 6,021 | 28% |
6 | Optics | 2,408 | 2,616 | 2,563 | 3,215 | 3,716 | 16% |
7 | Analysis, measurement, control technology | 10,767 | 11,447 | 10,869 | 11,867 | 12,715 | 7% |
8 | Medical technology | 7,360 | 8,600 | 8,877 | 9,554 | 10,971 | 15% |
9 | Nuclear engineering | 448 | 517 | 496 | 499 | 560 | 12% |
III | Chemicals - Materials | ||||||
10 | Organic fine chemistry | 4,537 | 5,225 | 5,652 | 6,112 | 6,194 | 1% |
11 | Macromolecular chemistry, polymers | 3,894 | 3,984 | 4,002 | 4,532 | 5,384 | 19% |
12 | Chemical engineering | 3,646 | 3,879 | 3,702 | 4,266 | 4,723 | 11% |
13 | Surface technology, coating | 2,912 | 3,293 | 3,326 | 3,642 | 4,288 | 18% |
14 | Materials, metallurgy | 2,909 | 3,037 | 3,031 | 3,252 | 3,753 | 15% |
IV | Pharmaceuticals - Biotechnology | ||||||
15 | Biotechnology | 9,001 | 8,604 | 7,609 | 7,312 | 6,952 | -5% |
16 | Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics | 9,654 | 9,976 | 9,436 | 11,090 | 13,376 | 21% |
17 | Agriculture and food | 1,522 | 1,660 | 1,840 | 1,949 | 2,284 | 17% |
V | Process engineering | ||||||
18 | Industrial processes | 4,767 | 5,365 | 4,909 | 4,911 | 5,533 | 13% |
19 | Handling, printing | 3,947 | 4,540 | 4,555 | 5,401 | 6,108 | 13% |
20 | Agricultural and food processing, machinery and apparatus | 1,133 | 1,274 | 1,334 | 1,521 | 1,475 | -3% |
21 | Materials processing, textiles, paper | 4,159 | 4,780 | 4,285 | 4,763 | 5,390 | 13% |
22 | Environmental technology | 1,230 | 1,314 | 1,249 | 1,380 | 1,533 | 11% |
VI | Machinery - Mechanics - Transport | ||||||
23 | Machine tools | 2,369 | 2,485 | 2,323 | 2,773 | 2,959 | 7% |
24 | Engines, pumps, turbines | 2,583 | 2,820 | 2,975 | 3,205 | 3,661 | 14% |
25 | Thermal processes and apparatus | 1,390 | 1,580 | 1,542 | 1,825 | 2,027 | 11% |
26 | Mechanical Components | 3,229 | 3,567 | 3,720 | 4,108 | 4,649 | 13% |
27 | Transport | 3,944 | 4,597 | 4,883 | 5,542 | 6,004 | 8% |
28 | Space technology and weapons | 448 | 494 | 436 | 536 | 495 | -8% |
VII | Consumer goods - Civil engineering | ||||||
29 | Consumer goods and equipment | 4,952 | 5,757 | 6,040 | 7,228 | 8,151 | 13% |
30 | Civil engineering, building, mining | 3,132 | 3,461 | 3,847 | 3,908 | 4,352 | 11% |
Top 50 PCT Applicants in 2006
2006 | Position Changed | Applicant's Name | Country of Origin | PCT application published in 2006 | Increased over 2005 |
1 | 0 | KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V. | NL | 2,495 | 3 |
2 | 0 | MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. | JP | 2,344 | 324 |
3 | 0 | SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT | DE | 1,480 | 81 |
4 | 0 | NOKIA CORPORATION | FI | 1,036 | 137 |
5 | 0 | ROBERT BOSCH GMBH | DE | 962 | 118 |
6 | 2 | 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY | US | 727 | 122 |
7 | 0 | BASF AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT | DE | 714 | 58 |
8 | 11 | TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA | JP | 704 | 305 |
9 | -3 | INTEL CORPORATION | US | 690 | -6 |
10 | -1 | MOTOROLA, INC. | US | 637 | 57 |
11 | 6 | MITSUBISHI DENKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA | JP | 616 | 178 |
12 | 9 | QUALCOMM INCORPORATED | US | 608 | 229 |
13 | 24 | HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. | CN | 575 | 326 |
14 | -1 | TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL) | SE | 572 | 61 |
15 | 9 | FUJITSU LIMITED | JP | 571 | 213 |
16 | 12 | LG ELECTRONICS INC. | KR | 567 | 238 |
17 | 1 | E.I. DUPONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY | US | 523 | 100 |
18 | 5 | HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P. | US | 509 | 150 |
19 | -7 | HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC. | US | 508 | -11 |
20 | -6 | SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. | KR | 505 | 22 |
21 | 15 | SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA | JP | 496 | 227 |
22 | 17 | PIONEER CORPORATION | JP | 494 | 254 |
23 | -8 | THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY | US | 492 | 31 |
24 | -14 | DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG | DE | 451 | -123 |
25 | 87 | FUJI PHOTO FILM CO., LTD. | JP | 445 | 339 |
26 | 0 | THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA | US | 416 | 71 |
27 | -16 | EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY | US | 394 | -137 |
28 | -3 | NEC CORPORATION | JP | 373 | 20 |
29 | -7 | INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION | US | 365 | -9 |
30 | 59 | BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SCIMED, INC. | US | 327 | 196 |
31 | -15 | SONY CORPORATION | JP | 320 | -129 |
32 | 29 | FRANCE TELECOM | FR | 303 | 135 |
33 | -13 | THOMSON LICENSING | FR | 303 | -87 |
34 | -5 | PHILIPS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & STANDARDS GMBH | DE | 286 | -33 |
35 | -8 | KIMBERLY-CLARK WORLDWIDE, INC. | US | 283 | -53 |
36 | 7 | BSH BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERÄTE GMBH | DE | 282 | 67 |
37 | -7 | GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY | US | 279 | -39 |
38 | -3 | CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA | JP | 266 | -3 |
39 | 61 | LG CHEM, LTD. | KR | 262 | 142 |
40 | 1 | HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD. | JP | 261 | 37 |
41 | -3 | MEDTRONIC, INC. | US | 260 | 13 |
42 | 46 | FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. | US | 254 | 121 |
43 | 13 | MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. | JP | 248 | 74 |
44 | 20 | FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V. | DE | 247 | 83 |
45 | -1 | CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC. | US | 243 | 31 |
46 | 9 | MICROSOFT CORPORATION | US | 242 | 67 |
47 | -5 | ASTRAZENECA AB | SE | 240 | 24 |
48 | 17 | KANEKA CORPORATION | JP | 238 | 78 |
49 | -1 | DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD. | JP | 233 | 39 |
50 | -10 | NOVARTIS AG | CH | 227 | 0 |
PCT International Applications by Residence of First Applicant
All Countries of Origin
PCT Member States (136 Members on 31 December 2006) | |
Albania (AL) | Libya (LY) |
Algeria (DZ) | Liechtenstein (LI) |
Antigua and Barbuda (AG) | Lithuania (LT) |
Armenia (AM) | Luxembourg (LU) |
Australia (AU) | Madagascar (MG) |
Austria (AT) | Malawi (MW) |
Azerbaijan (AZ) | Malaysia (MY) |
Bahrain (BH) | Mali (ML) |
Barbados (BB) | Malta (MT) |
Belarus (BY) | Mauritania (MR) |
Belgium (BE) | Mexico (MX) |
Belize BZ) | Monaco (MC) |
Benin (BJ) | Mongolia (MN) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA) | Montenegro (ME) |
Botswana (BW) | Morocco (MA) |
Brazil (BR) | Mozambique (MZ) |
Bulgaria (BG) | Namibia (NA) |
Burkina Faso (BF) | Netherlands (NL) |
Côte d’Ivoire (CI) | New Zealand (NZ) |
Cameroon (CM) | Nicaragua (NI) |
Canada (CA) | Niger (NE) |
Central African Republic (CF) | Nigeria (NG) |
Chad (TD) | Norway (NO) |
China (CN) | Oman (OM) |
Colombia (CO) | Papua New Guinea (PG) |
Comoros (KM) | Philippines (PH) |
Congo (CG) | Poland (PL) |
Costa Rica (CR) | Portugal (PT) |
Croatia (HR) | Republic of Korea (KR) |
Cuba (CU) | Moldova (MD) |
Cyprus (CY) | Romania (RO) |
Czech Republic (CZ) | Russian Federation (RU) |
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (KP) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (KN) |
Denmark (DK) | Saint Lucia (LC) |
Dominica (DM) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VC) |
Ecuador (EC) | San Marino (SM) |
Egypt (EG) | Senegal (SN) |
El Salvador (SV) | Republic of Serbia (RS) |
Equatorial Guinea (GQ) | Seychelles (SC) |
Estonia (EE) | Sierre Leone (SL) |
Finland (FI) | Singapore (SG) |
France (FR) | Slovakia (SK) |
Gabon (GA) | Slovenia (SI) |
Gambia (GM) | South Africa (ZA) |
Georgia (GE) | Spain (ES) |
Germany (DE) | Sri Lanka (LK) |
Ghana (GH) | Sudan (SD) |
Greece (GR) | Swaziland (SZ) |
Grenada (GD) | Sweden (SE) |
Guatemala (GT) | Switzerland (CH) |
Guinea (GN) | Syrian Arab Republic (SY) |
Guinea-Bissau (GW) | Tajikistan (TJ) |
Honduras (HN) | The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MK) |
Hungary (HU) | Togo (TG) |
Iceland (IS) | Trinidad and Tobago (TT) |
India (IN) | Tunisia (TN) |
Indonesia (ID) | Turkey (TR) |
Ireland (IE) | Turkmenistan TM |
Israel (IL) | Uganda (UG) |
Italy (IT) | Ukraine (UA) |
Japan (JP) | United Arab Emirates (AE) |
Kazakhstan (KZ) | United Kingdom (GB) |
Kenya (KE) | United Republic of Tanzania (TZ) |
Kyrgyzstan (KG) | United States of America (US) |
Lao People's Democratic Republic (LA) | Uzbekistan (UZ) |
Latvia (LV) | Viet Nam (VN) |
Lesotho (LS) | Zambia (ZM) |
Liberia (LR) | Zimbabwe (ZW) |
1 Provisional estimate - WIPO continues to receive PCT applications filed with national offices in 2006 throughout the first half of the year
- Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 / 338 72 24