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International Patent Filings Dip in 2009 amid Global Economic Downturn

Geneva, February 8, 2010
PR/2010/632

Video of the press conference, Audio of the press conference (MP3)

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 [1] (annex 1) 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 under 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 [2] (Annex 3)

Panasonic [3] Corporation (Japan) returned to the top spot in the list of PCT applicants, nudging Huawei Technologies, Co., Ltd. (China) into second place.  Panasonic Corporation had 1,891 PCT applications published in 2009, China's Huawei 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. 

Fields of Technology

Declines and advances in PCT filings varied by technology area (annex 4).  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%). 

The main fields of technology in which PCT applications are published are broken down according to the International Patent Classification (IPC) – a classification system designed to facilitate the retrieval of technical information found in patent documents worldwide. 

Evolution of the PCT

PCT operations are under constant review to ensure that the system continues to deliver value added services to users.  The system, first launched in 1978, is designed specifically to promote effective information sharing among patent offices, to avoid duplication of work and to facilitate access to valuable patent information. According to WIPO's Program and Budget for 2010/11, the Organization's objective is "to maintain and reinforce the PCT as the central node and work sharing tool of the international system and the preferred route for obtaining international patent protection."

WIPO and other patent offices have continually sought to streamline, modernize and enhance PCT operations to generate efficiency gains and to better serve the business community.  As a consequence, some 80% of all PCT applications are now filed fully or partially in electronic format. 

Other Developments

In 2009, WIPO‘s PATENTSCOPE® search service, which currently hosts data on more than 1.6 million international patent applications filed under the PCT, was further enhanced to include patent data collections of eight patent offices - African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), Cuba, Israel, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa and Vietnam – making it possible to conduct high-quality, detailed and free-of-charge searches of the patent information of these offices.   Further enhancements of this data search service are anticipated in 2010.  WIPO provides technical assistance to offices to assist them in the digitization and dissemination of their patent data.  This technical support is part of the Organization's commitment to supporting the development of a fully integrated global IP infrastructure and to increasing participation by developing and least developed countries in the benefits of the knowledge economy.

Impact of PCT Decline on WIPO's Budget

WIPO is a largely self-funding agency, drawing 95% of its income from services to the private sector.  The PCT is one of WIPO's core income generating areas responsible for some 75% of the Organization's revenue.  Since the onset of the global financial crisis, WIPO has closely monitored use of its fee-paying services and adopted prudent financial management and a range of cost-cutting measures.   The Organization expects to report a positive result overall for the 2008/09 biennium.  "This is a very positive result and reflects the seriousness with which we have taken the financial crisis," Mr. Gurry observed.  "We will continue to monitor the situation and are hopeful that the PCT will return to positive growth in the near future."

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.

Annex 1

PCT International Applications by Residence of First Applicant

Name Country 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Estimate
Albania AL   1      
Algeria DZ 4 3 12 10 8
Andorra AD 3 3 3 7 2
Antigua and Barbuda AG 2 1     5
Argentina AR 21 21 33 25 11
Armenia AM 3 7 4 7 5
Australia AU 2,001 2,003 2,053 1,946 1,800
Austria AT 851 915 1,009 954 1,072
Azerbaijan AZ 5 13 7 4 2
Bahamas BS 31 18 39 21 23
Bahrain BH       3 1
Bangladesh BD         1
Barbados BB 258 252 367 246 96
Belarus BY 22 18 9 9 19
Belgium BE 1,077 1,031 1,126 1,133 1,034
Belize BZ 5 1 2 4 2
Benin BJ   1   1  
Bolivia BO     1    
Bosnia and Herzegovina BA 7 8 13 9 11
Botswana BW       1  
Brazil BR 270 334 397 472 480
Brunei Darussalam BN 7 1      
Bulgaria BG 22 26 30 27 20
Burkina Faso BF       1  
Burundi BI 1 2 1   1
Cameroon CM 2 1 1 1 10
Canada CA 2,320 2,573 2,847 2,913 2,572
Chile CL 9 12 17 28 52
China CN 2,512 3,937 5,465 6,128 7,946
Colombia CO 23 29 44 37 68
Congo CG       1  
Cook Islands CK 1   1    
Costa Rica CR 4 6 3 8 4
Côte d'Ivoire CI 1        
Croatia HR 72 75 79 56 36
Cuba CU 11 21 22 11 7
Cyprus CY 30 52 64 39 39
Czech Republic CZ 117 107 132 156 172
Democratic People's Republic of Korea KP 2 3 2 7  
Democratic Republic of the Congo CD       2  
Denmark DK 1,122 1,162 1,155 1,358 1,410
Dominica DM         1
Dominican Republic DO     2 5  
Ecuador EC 1 8 2 4 4
Egypt EG 51 41 40 43 33
El Salvador SV       3 3
Equatorial Guinea GQ 1 1      
Estonia EE 13 17 29 35 32
Ethiopia ET          
Fiji FJ     1    
Finland FI 1,893 1,844 1,994 2,223 2,173
France FR 5,756 6,264 6,570 7,074 7,166
Gabon GA       1  
Georgia GE 4 8 8 9 5
Germany DE 15,987 16,734 17,825 18,853 16,736
Ghana GH   2   3  
Greece GR 55 87 87 108 99
Grenada GD       1  
Guatemala GT 1   1 14 2
Guinea GN          
Haiti HT          
Honduras HN 1     3 1
Hungary HU 158 146 167 175 148
Iceland IS 44 56 51 66 67
India IN 679 836 901 1,070 761
Indonesia ID 8 8 9 10 7
Iran (Islamic Republic of) IR 2 3 3 2 5
Iraq IQ     1    
Ireland IE 342 422 421 467 475
Israel IL 1,461 1,599 1,747 1,905 1,578
Italy IT 2,349 2,702 2,948 2,885 2,718
Jamaica JM   1 1   2
Japan JP 24,870 27,023 27,748 28,785 29,827
Jordan JO 4 6 22 7 1
Kazakhstan KZ 8 17 16 4 19
Kenya KE 7 4 3 2 5
Kuwait KW 4 1 3 3 1
Kyrgyzstan KG 1   2    
Latvia LV 16 17 21 20 25
Lebanon LB   5 2 1 2
Liberia LR          
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya LY       1 4
Liechtenstein LI 72 76 68 374 59
Lithuania LT 8 10 13 18 23
Luxembourg LU 119 128 165 227 236
Madagascar MG 1     1  
Malaysia MY 38 60 111 205 218
Mali ML          
Malta MT 10 17 11 24 33
Marshall Islands MH   1 1    
Mauritius MU 3 7 10 3 2
Mexico MX 141 168 186 213 185
Moldova MD 5 7 4 5 1
Monaco MC 14 16 4 17 13
Mongolia MN   6   3 2
Montenegro ME   2      
Morocco MA 9 10 18 16 20
Myanmar MM       1  
Namibia NA 1 1 2   2
Netherlands NL 4,504 4,550 4,422 4,339 4,471
New Zealand NZ 351 354 397 358 263
Nicaragua NI          
Niger NE         1
Nigeria NG 2 1 2   2
Norway NO 585 610 603 647 648
Oman OM 2 1     1
Pakistan PK   3 4    
Panama PA 17 16 14 9 10
Papua New Guinea PG 1        
Paraguay PY          
Peru PE   1 2 2 10
Philippines PH 26 23 17 13 19
Poland PL 97 101 107 128 171
Portugal PT 56 68 92 100 164
Qatar QA 1       1
Republic of Korea KR 4,689 5,946 7,065 7,901 8,066
Romania RO 15 28 31 15 13
Russian Federation RU 660 697 735 803 569
Saint Kitts and Nevis KN 1 1 2 1 2
Saint Lucia LC       1  
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC       1 1
Samoa WS 1 1   3 1
San Marino SM 3 5 20 10 8
Saudi Arabia SA 38 54 46 61 69
Senegal SN 1 3 1    
Serbia RS   8 23 37 25
Serbia and Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia) YU 36 24 1    
Seychelles SC 2 10 6 16 12
Sierra Leone SL   2   1  
Singapore SG 455 483 522 563 594
Slovakia SK 32 31 39 41 33
Slovenia SI 85 79 87 107 141
Somalia SO         1
South Africa ZA 360 424 406 399 389
Spain ES 1,127 1,202 1,294 1,389 1,423
Sri Lanka LK   3 7 10 17
Sudan SD 6 2 4 3  
Swaziland SZ   1      
Sweden SE 2,887 3,333 3,658 4,136 3,667
Switzerland CH 3,294 3,613 3,814 3,749 3,688
Syrian Arab Republic SY 4 7 2 5 6
T F Y R of Macedonia MK 2 3 5 2 2
Thailand TH 9 11 7 17 15
Togo TG          
Trinidad and Tobago TT 1 3 3   1
Tunisia TN 10 3 8 5 6
Turkey TR 174 269 359 393 371
Turkmenistan TM       1  
Ukraine UA 60 77 94 99 70
United Arab Emirates AE 24 15 20 23 32
United Kingdom GB 5,095 5,092 5,539 5,514 5,320
United Republic of Tanzania TZ          
United States of America US 46,857 51,296 54,038 51,657 45,790
Unknown ** 218 199 281 158 182
Uruguay UY 5 4 4 6 11
Uzbekistan UZ 2 1   2  
Vanuatu VU 1       1
Venezuela VE 3 2 7 4 2
Viet Nam VN   11 6 6 5
Yemen YE         1
Zambia ZM         1
Zimbabwe ZW 1       1
Total Total 136,753 149,669 159,950 163,249 155,900

 

Annex 2

PCT International Applications - Top 15 Countries of Origin

 

 

Ranking Country Code 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 estimate 2009 percent 2009 growth
1 United States of America US 46,857 51,296 54,037 51,653 45,790 29.4% -11.4%
2 Japan JP 24,870 27,023 27,748 28,785 29,827 19.1% 3.6%
3 Germany DE 15,987 16,734 17,824 18,853 16,736 10.7% -11.2%
4 Republic of Korea KR 4,689 5,946 7,065 7,901 8,066 5.2% 2.1%
5 China CN 2,512 3,937 5,465 6,128 7,946 5.1% 29.7%
6 France FR 5,756 6,264 6,570 7,074 7,166 4.6% 1.3%
7 United Kingdom GB 5,095 5,092 5,539 5,514 5,320 3.4% -3.5%
8 Netherlands NL 4,504 4,550 4,422 4,339 4,471 2.9% 3.0%
9 Switzerland CH 3,294 3,613 3,814 3,749 3,688 2.4% -1.6%
10 Sweden SE 2,887 3,333 3,658 4,136 3,667 2.4% -11.3%
11 Italy IT 2,349 2,702 2,948 2,885 2,718 1.7% -5.8%
12 Canada CA 2,320 2,573 2,847 2,913 2,572 1.6% -11.7%
13 Finland FI 1,893 1,844 1,994 2,223 2,173 1.4% -2.2%
14 Australia AU 2,001 2,003 2,053 1,946 1,800 1.2% -7.5%
15 Israel IL 1,461 1,599 1,747 1,905 1,578 1.0% -17.2%
  All Others   10,278 11,160 12,218 13,243 12,382 7.9% -6.5%
  Total   136,753 149,669 159,949 163,247 155,900    

 

Annex 3

Top PCT Applicants in 2009

2009 Ranking Position Changed Applicant's Name Country of Origin PCT application published in 2009 Increased over 2008
1 1 PANASONIC CORPORATION JP 1,891 162
2 -1 HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. CN 1,847 110
3 2 ROBERT BOSCH GMBH DE 1,586 313
4 -1 KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V. NL 1,295 -256
5 6 QUALCOMM INCORPORATED US 1,280 373
6 3 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL) SE 1,240 256
7 1 LG ELECTRONICS INC. KR 1,090 98
8 4 NEC CORPORATION JP 1,069 244
9 -5 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA JP 1,068 -296
10 3 SHARP KABUSHIKI KAISHA JP 997 183
11 -5 SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT DE 932 -157
12 -3 FUJITSU LIMITED JP 817 -167
13 3 BASF SE DE 739 18
14 4 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY US 688 25
15 -8 NOKIA CORPORATION FI 663 -342
16 -2 MICROSOFT CORPORATION US 644 -161
17 2 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. KR 596 -43
18 10 NXP B.V. NL 593 186
19 2 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION JP 569 66
20 3 HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P. US 554 58
21 -6 MOTOROLA, INC. US 538 -240
22 -2 E.I. DUPONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY US 509 -8
23 15 ZTE CORPORATION CN 502 173
24 1 ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE KR 452 7
25 4 SONY ERICSSON MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS AB SE 435 33
26 4 BSH BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERÄTE GMBH DE 413 19
27 23 CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA JP 401 121
27 -10 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION US 401 -263
29 14 BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED US 375 79
30 3 DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD. JP 374 4
31 42 MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD. JP 373 158
32 32 DAIMLER AG DE 362 126
32 5 KYOCERA CORPORATION JP 362 30
34 -10 THOMSON LICENSING FR 359 -103
35 19 SUMITOMO CHEMICAL COMPANY, LIMITED JP 352 89
36 -9 THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY US 341 -71
37 -11 CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH DE 334 -98
38 3 SONY CORPORATION JP 328 21
39 35 KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA JP 326 113
40 -6 THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA US 321 -26
41 42 HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD. JP 318 125
42 214 NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS OY FI 313 245
43 -1 EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY US 311 12
44 -5 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY US 307 -19
44 >500 MONDOBIOTECH LABORATORIES AG LI 307 307
46 1 DOW GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES INC. US 304 19
47 -15 INA-SCHAEFFLER KG DE 299 -77
48 32 APPLIED MATERIALS, INC. US 296 99
49 19 CORNING INCORPORATED US 285 57
50 25 ALCATEL LUCENT FR 283 71
50 -28 PIONEER CORPORATION JP 283 -214
52 -4 NIKON CORPORATION JP 267 -17
53 -7 FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V. DE 265 -22
54 45 FUJIFILM CORPORATION JP 264 109
54 58 SCHLUMBERGER CANADA LIMITED CA 264 128
56 -1 HENKEL KGAA DE 261 0
57 8 BOSTON SCIENTIFIC SCIMED, INC. US 255 24
58 4 MURATA MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. JP 254 15
59 -23 RENAULT S.A.S. FR 253 -82
59 20 ZF FRIEDRICHSHAFEN AG DE 253 55
61 9 NTT DOCOMO, INC. JP 249 23
62 -4 DSM IP ASSETS B.V. NL 243 -3
63 28 COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE FR 238 67
64 -4 MEDTRONIC, INC. US 236 -8
65 39 PANASONIC ELECTRIC WORKS CO., LTD. JP 235 84
66 6 F. HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE AG CH 225 4
67 15 BRIDGESTONE CORPORATION JP 224 29
68 1 ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC. US 221 -6
69 -6 FRANCE TELECOM FR 220 -18
70 -26 NOVARTIS AG CH 218 -77
71 10 KONICA MINOLTA OPTO, INC. JP 214 18
72 -16 KIMBERLY-CLARK WORLDWIDE, INC. US 212 -38
72 -20 OLYMPUS CORPORATION JP 212 -60
72 -11 OSRAM GESELLSCHAFT MIT BESCHRÄNKTER HAFTUNG DE 212 -29
75 -24 LG CHEM, LTD. KR 210 -67
76 -19 PHILIPS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & STANDARDS GMBH DE 202 -47
77 -11 ASTRAZENECA AB SE 195 -35
78 -43 HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC. US 194 -146
79 24 NITTO DENKO CORPORATION JP 192 40
80 63 HITACHI, LTD. JP 190 78
81 -4 MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. US 182 -21
82 -16 FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC. US 181 -49
82 -6 NTN CORPORATION JP 181 -30
82 -12 TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED JP 181 -45
85 -26 CATERPILLAR INC. US 178 -67
86 2 ASAHI GLASS COMPANY, LIMITED JP 177 -9
87 -56 INTEL CORPORATION US 176 -201
88 -36 LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. US 174 -98
88 -3 SHELL INTERNATIONALE RESEARCH MAATSCHAPPIJ B.V. NL 174 -15
88 -39 THE BOEING COMPANY US 174 -107
91 62 L'OREAL FR 170 62
91 44 NESTEC S.A. CH 170 56
93 1 IDEMITSU KOSAN CO., LTD. JP 167 8
94 -5 KONICA MINOLTA MEDICAL & GRAPHIC, INC. JP 161 -21
95 27 GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS, INC. US 160 32
95 15 UNILEVER PLC GB 160 19
97 -52 APPLE COMPUTER, INC. US 159 -130
97 -10 RAYTHEON COMPANY US 159 -28
99 44 SHOWA DENKO K.K. JP 155 43
100 16 L'AIR LIQUIDE SOCIETE ANONYME A DIRECTOIRE ET CONSEIL DE SURVEILLANCE POUR L'ETUDE ET L'EXPLOITATION DES PROCEDES GEORGES CLAUDE FR 152 19

 

Annex 4

Main fields of technology in which PCT applications were published

  Technical Field 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Increase Compared with 2008
I Electrical engineering            
1 Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy 7,826 9,017 10,055 11,303 11,393 0.8%
2 Audio-visual technology 6,000 6,597 6,812 6,726 6,375 -5.2%
3 Telecommunications 7,276 8,471 9,511 10,216 9,343 -8.5%
4 Digital communication 6,416 7,289 8,918 10,187 10,452 2.6%
5 Basic communication processes 1,544 1,721 1,765 1,892 1,809 -4.4%
6 Computer technology 10,455 12,209 13,516 14,048 12,560 -10.6%
7 IT methods for management 1,551 2,075 2,409 2,947 2,677 -9.2%
8 Semiconductors 4,615 5,941 6,409 6,897 7,588 10.0%
II Instruments            
9 Optics 5,088 5,897 6,045 6,420 6,174 -3.8%
10 Measurement 6,981 8,088 8,776 9,158 9,070 -1.0%
11 Analysis of biological materials 3,008 3,045 2,935 3,014 2,968 -1.5%
12 Control 2,965 3,363 3,509 3,620 3,429 -5.3%
13 Medical technology 9,688 11,324 12,221 12,852 12,091 -5.9%
III Chemistry            
14 Organic fine chemistry 8,873 9,614 9,625 9,680 8,841 -8.7%
15 Biotechnology 7,605 7,506 7,540 7,752 7,446 -3.9%
16 Pharmaceuticals 10,343 12,947 13,071 13,254 12,200 -8.0%
17 Macromolecular chemistry, polymers 4,010 4,718 4,812 4,995 4,917 -1.6%
18 Food chemistry 1,986 2,331 2,329 2,429 2,211 -9.0%
19 Basic materials chemistry 5,393 6,300 6,967 7,484 7,136 -4.6%
20 Materials, metallurgy 3,192 3,724 4,012 4,309 4,280 -0.7%
21 Surface technology, coating 3,667 4,373 4,306 4,411 4,150 -5.9%
22 Micro-structural and nano-technology 242 357 430 531 585 10.2%
23 Chemical engineering 4,721 5,392 5,566 6,015 5,800 -3.6%
24 Environmental technology 2,121 2,562 2,920 3,326 3,282 -1.3%
IV Mechanical engineering            
25 Handling 4,281 4,855 5,085 5,079 4,830 -4.9%
26 Machine tools 3,329 3,589 3,730 4,249 3,953 -7.0%
27 Engines, pumps, turbines 3,440 3,951 4,542 5,182 5,330 2.9%
28 Textile and paper machines 3,050 3,467 3,135 3,224 2,997 -7.0%
29 Other special machines 4,853 5,400 5,466 6,035 5,874 -2.7%
30 Thermal processes and apparatus 1,907 2,173 2,493 2,816 3,018 7.2%
31 Mechanical elements 4,110 4,751 5,132 5,856 5,566 -5.0%
32 Transport 5,590 6,098 6,795 7,601 7,415 -2.4%
V Other fields            
33 Furniture, games 3,638 4,187 4,488 4,436 4,018 -9.4%
34 Other consumer goods 3,197 3,713 3,853 4,127 3,848 -6.8%
35 Civil engineering 3,906 4,412 4,734 5,313 5,397 1.6%

 

__________________________ 

[1] Provisional estimate – WIPO continues to receive PCT applications filed with national offices in 2009 throughout the first half of the year.
[2] These company figures refer to PCT applications published, rather than filed.   There is a lag of several months between filing and publication.
[3] Matsushita changed its name to Panasonic in 2008.

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