Record Number of International Patent Filings in 2004

Geneva, March 9, 2005
Press Releases PR/2005/403

Geneva, March 9, 2005

RECORD NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL PATENT FILINGS IN 2004

In the same year that the international patent system marked the filing of the one millionth international patent application, a record number of applications, just over 120,000, were filed in 2004 using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The United States of America continued to top the list of largest users, but the biggest rates of growth came from the Asian continent – namely, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China. The PCT is the cornerstone of the international patent system and offers a rapid, flexible and cost-effective way to obtain patent protection in the 126 countries that have signed up to the system.

"The international patent system has been experiencing amazing growth in recent years, expanding the pool of public knowledge and helping to spur technological progress," said Mr. Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General responsible for the PCT. "It is noteworthy that more and more companies in the developing world are recognizing the strategic value of patents and the PCT in their business planning as a way to bolster their competitiveness in the global marketplace" Mr. Gurry added. He said that further growth is expected from the Asian continent in the coming years, noting that if current rates of growth continue, China will overtake Australia in 2005 to become the twelfth largest user of the system.

Inventors and industry from the United States of America represented 34.9% of all applications in 2004. Applicants from Japan (16.6%), who unseated their German counterparts in 2003 for the number two spot, maintained their second place position, followed by Germany (12.4%), France (4.4%) and the United Kingdom (4.2%). Use of the PCT in Japan grew by 15% in 2004. The Republic of Korea (19.3% growth), and China (37.8% growth) also showed a significant increase in filings.

The 120,100 applications filed in 2004 (provisional estimate - WIPO continues to receive PCT applications filed with national offices in 2004 throughout the first half of the year), represents a 4.3% increase on the number filed in 2003. The Dutch multinational Philips Electronics N.V. was again the largest filer, followed by Matsushita (Japan), Siemens (Germany), Nokia (Finland), Bosch (Germany), Intel (USA), BASF (Germany), 3M (USA), Motorola (Germany) and Sony (Japan).

International patent applications received from developing countries in 2004 saw a 23% increase as compared to 2003, representing 6.3% of all international patent applications filed. The list was topped by applications from the Republic of Korea with 3,521 applications, followed by China (1,782), India (784), South Africa (416), Singapore (415), Brazil (280) and Mexico (137). Many developing countries saw double-digit increases in their use of the PCT, notably the Republic of Korea, China, South Africa, Singapore and Brazil. Developing countries make up 56% of the membership of the PCT, representing 71 of the 126 countries that have signed up to the treaty to date.

The top ten users of the PCT from developing countries include: Samsung Electronics, (Republic of Korea), LG Electronics (Republic of Korea), Huawei Technologies (China), Ranbaxy Laboratories (India), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (Singapore), ZTE Corporation (China), LG Chem (Republic of Korea), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (Republic of Korea), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (India), and UTStarcom (Republic of Korea).

The main fields of technology in which PCT applications were published in 2004 are broken down according to the main technical fields of the International Patent Classification - a system designed to facilitate the retrieval of technical information found in patent documents - and are outlined in Annex I. Applications can be filed in any language and are published in one of the following seven languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

Developments in 2004

In January 2004, the PCT-SAFE software was launched. This software allows PCT applicants to file their PCT applications electronically over a secure internet link. (See PR/2004/374). In February 2004, WIPO's PCT receiving office (which accepts international applications from all PCT member states) made electronic filing available to applicants from all PCT member states.

WIPO's new E-Pdoc application system was also launched in 2004. This system allows WIPO to receive, process and communicate priority documents in electronic form. Priority documents enable applicants to claim as the filing date for their PCT application the date on which they first filed an application for the same invention in any given patent office. The earlier filing date further serves as the date from which protection under the PCT application, if granted by the national patent offices in question, will be valid.

In July 2004, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office began operations as an International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority under the PCT. These authorities, now 12 in number, play a crucial role in the PCT system as they provide applicants with an opinion about the patentability of their applications enabling applicants to make more informed decisions about whether and how to proceed with their applications in the national, or grant, phase of the patenting process.

Millionth PCT Application

In January 2005, WIPO hosted a ceremony to mark the filing of the one millionth PCT application in the presence of representatives of several big users of the system. At the ceremony, Mr. Gurry said "This milestone in the history of the patent system is testimony to the increasing importance of intellectual property at a time when wealth generation is shifting away from physical to intellectual capital." He said "The patent system is the best system that is available to encourage innovation which leads to improvement in the quality of life. Without the patent system companies would seek to retain their competitive advantage through secrecy and the public domain would be the poorer." Industry representatives highlighted the importance of the PCT to their business strategies and the critical role of the intellectual property system in stimulating innovation (please see https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/prdocs/2005/wipo_pr_2005_401.html).

The growth rate in the filing of PCT applications has been especially significant during the last eight 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).

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.

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Annex I

Main fields of technology in which PCT applications were published in 2003
according to the International Patent Classification

Top 50 PCT Applicants in 2004 (provisional ranking)

PCT International Applications

All Other Countries of Origin.