Geneva, January 27, 2009
PR/2009/583

International patent filings under WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) grew by 2.4% in 2008, to nearly 164,000 1 applications. While the rate of growth was modest, as compared to an average 9.3% rate of growth in the previous three years, the total number of applications for 2008 represents the highest number of applications received under the PCT in a single year. Continued use of the PCT, a cornerstone of the international patent system, indicates that companies recognize the importance of sustained investment in research, development and innovation to remain competitive even within challenging economic conditions.

Inventors from the Republic of Korea (+12.0%), China (+11.9%) and Sweden (+12.5%) enjoyed robust growth rates in their filing of PCT applications in 2008. The largest number of international PCT applications, just under a third of the total for 2008 (32.7% or 53,521 applications) were filed by inventors in the United States of America, maintaining a ranking that has spanned some thirty years.

“Historically, patent filings tend to dip during periods of economic difficulty simply because fewer resources are available for investment in the innovation cycle. Once the economic cycle improves, patenting activity tends also to recover. That said, economic crises have, in the past, been a catalyst for innovation as greater emphasis is placed on improving standards of efficiency, doing more with less and identifying and developing smarter business solutions,” said Mr. Francis Gurry, Director General of WIPO. “In the current economic climate, technology, innovation and creativity are critical in creating opportunities for economic renewal and addressing pressing global issues such as climate change,” he added.

Inventors and corporations from Japan, with 17.5% (28,774) of all filings, clinched the number two spot in 2008, followed by Germany (18,428), Republic of Korea (7,908) France (6,867), China (6,089), United Kingdom (5,517), Netherlands (4,349), Sweden (4,114), Switzerland (3,832), Canada (2,966), Italy (2,939), Finland (2,119), Australia (2,028) and Israel (1,882). In 2008, China improved its ranking by one place, to become the sixth largest user of the PCT.

Top Applicants

For the first time, a Chinese company topped the list of PCT applicants in 2008. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, a major international telecommunications company based in Shenzhen, filed 1,737 PCT applications in 2008. Panasonic Corporation2 (Japan) was the second largest user of the PCT in 2008 with 1,729 international applications, followed by Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Netherlands, 1,551 PCT applications), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Japan, 1,364 PCT applications) and Robert Bosch GMBH (Germany, 1,273 PCT applications).

Of the top 100 companies using the PCT system in 2008, 38 were from the United States, 28 from Japan and 13 from Germany. One other Chinese company, ZTE Corporation, also a Shenzen-based telecommunications company, figured in the top 100 user list.

Developing Countries

WIPO continued to receive international patent applications from developing countries in 2008. The largest number of applications received came from the Republic of Korea (7,908) and China (6,089) followed by India (766), Brazil (451), South Africa (382), Turkey (367), Mexico (210), and Malaysia (177).

Developing countries make up 78% of the membership of the PCT, representing 109 of the 139 countries that have signed up to the treaty to date.

“In the coming years, it will be a priority for WIPO to work closely with its member states to ensure that all countries are in a position to actively participate in the benefits of innovation and the knowledge economy and maximize their participation in the PCT,” said Mr. Gurry. The Director General recalled that WIPO’s Development Agenda calls for continual analysis and reflection on the best means of making intellectual property work to the advantage of all countries, regardless of their level of development.

Fields of Technology

The largest proportion of PCT applications published in 2008 related to medical technology (12.0%), computer technology (8.5%) and pharmaceuticals (7.9%) sectors. The fastest growing technology areas are information technology methods for management (22.7% increase) and micro-structures and nanotechnology (20.7%).

The main fields of technology in which PCT applications were published in 2008 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. These categories are outlined in Annex I. (For further information on IPC codes, please consult: http://www.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/).

Evolution of the PCT System

A review of PCT operations is on-going to ensure that the PCT system continues to deliver value added services to users and is a more effective platform for sharing information among patent offices to avoid duplication of work, and for facilitating access to valuable patent information. WIPO’s revised program and budget (http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/govbody/en/wo_pbc_13/wo_pbc_13_4.pdf) states that the PCT’s strategic direction in 2009 is “to ensure that the PCT system is being used to its full potential and to maximize its value to applicants and member states.”

The Director General said, “The PCT has been a major success in providing a multilateral response to the growth in demand for patents and the internationalization of the system. Demand for patent rights in today’s technology-dependent societies, however, is such that patent offices around the world are struggling to deliver their IP services in an efficient and timely manner. In the face of this demand management crisis, there is an urgent need to find solutions.” Mr. Gurry said “the PCT provides a better basis for constructing future solutions than any other currently under consideration.”

Other Developments

In recent years, WIPO and other patent offices have sought to continually enhance and modernize PCT operations to generate efficiency gains and to better serve the user community. As a result of this, some 70% of all PCT applications are now filed fully or partially in electronic form. WIPO has also streamlined PCT operations such that staff numbers have remained stable in spite of a continuing increase in workload.

Also, through the PATENTSCOPE® Search Service, users are able to do full-text searches in over 1.5 million published international patent applications from the first publication in 1978. Partly in recognition of these efficiency gains, member states agreed in 2007 to reduce the PCT international fee by 5% as from July 1, 2008. In order to encourage use of the PCT in developing countries, the international filing fee is now reduced by 90% for individual applicants (not companies) from an approved list of developing countries and by 90% for all applicants from less developed countries.

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.

Growth rates in the filing of PCT applications have been particularly dynamic over 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.

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1 Provisional estimate – WIPO continues to receive PCT applications filed with national offices in 2008 throughout the first half of the year.
2 Matsushita changed its name to Panasonic in 2008