FEBRUARY 2008
Asia's patent quality leaders
The rate of patenting in Asian countries has increased dramatically over the past decade. But what about the quality? Peter Ollier considers the evidence
| One-minute read |
| |
The Asia-Pacific region has seen a prodigious rise in patent output over the past decade. Each year the new figures generate another set of headlines claiming that future innovation will come from the East. But how good are these patents? A new report commissioned by the IP Academy of Singapore examines the quality of patents filed by residents of different countries in the region at the US Patent and Trademark Office. It reveals that Japan tops the regional list in terms of how many of its patents are cited in applications. But the report also provides some surprising data about Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. |
Everyone knows that companies and inventors in the Asia-Pacific region are filing more patents. Each year, WIPO's annual Patent Report reveals another staggering rise in output from Asia in general and China in particular. The 2007 report said that resident filings in China increased by 42.1% from 2004 to 2005 – and that is only one of a series of spectacular statistics.
The rest of this article is available to subscribers only. Subscribe today for full access to this article. The article is not available to current free trialists.
If you are already a subscriber, please log in below to access the rest of this article.