WIPO reported yesterday that there were 205,300 PCT applications in 2013, a 5.1% increase on 2012. The US accounted for 56% of the growth, with a record 57,239 applications while filings from China grew by 29%, putting it third in the country ranking behind Japan.
Panasonic was the biggest filer last year, with 2,881 published PCT applications, and WIPO also highlighted the growth in filings from the automobile industry, where applications have increased from 2,322 in 2010 to 4,275 in 2013.
Trade mark and design filings also grew last year. Madrid system applications rose 6.4% to a record 46,829. Novartis was the top filer, with 228 applications during the year.
Filings under the Hague system grew by 14.8% to a record 2,990. Switzerland overtook Germany as the biggest user of the system, with Swatch the largest individual filer (113 applications).
Much more information is available in WIPO’s announcement (“US and China driev international patent filing growth in record-setting year”)
