Together, China and the U.S. accounted for 87% of the total growth in filings under WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which saw some 215,000 applications in 2014, a 4.5% increase over the previous year. In a significant development, the U.S. became the biggest filer of international trademark applications under WIPO’s Madrid System.
International trademark applications filed under the WIPO-administered Madrid System grew to a record 47,885 in 2014, representing 2.3% growth on 2013. The U.S. accounted for more than half of the total growth, overtaking Germany as the largest user of the System..
“The 2014 results show that the Madrid System is becoming a truly global system,” said Mr. Gurry. “While traditionally European focused, the fact that the U.S. has become the biggest user and that many non-European countries have joined the System since the early 2000s is testimony to the global relevance of this WIPO service.”
“The rapid growth in international patent applications underscores the increasing importance of intellectual property as it moves from the periphery to the center of the global economic system,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry on the release of WIPO’s annual review of its IP-filing and dispute resolution activities. “We are pleased that our filing services provide effective and efficient support for managing this trend.”
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. of China, with 3,442 published PCT applications, overtook Panasonic Corp. of Japan as the largest applicant in 2014. U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc. was the second largest applicant in 2014, with 2,409 published applications, while China’s ZTE Corp. took third place with 2,179 PCT applications.
Among the top 10 PCT filing countries, China (+18.7%) is the only country that saw double-digit growth in 2014. The U.K. recorded the second fastest growth rate (+9%), followed by the US (+7.1%). In addition to Japan, Switzerland (-5.9%) and Sweden (-0.5%) are the two other countries among the top ten with fewer PCT applications in 2014 than in 2013.
Read the full article
