Statistics of international IP filing activities via WIPO in 2013

I. Applications filing under WIPO’s Patent and Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

The total application: 205,300, representing 5.1% growth compared with 2012.

With 57,239 applications in 2013, the US remains the most-active user of the system, China surpassed Germany to become the third largest user of the PCT system, with Japan as the second-highest user and the last is some EU countries.

Top 10 countries having the most applications filing under WIPO’s PCT

                                                                                  1. United States of America         57,239            

                                                                                  2. Japan                                     43,918            

                                                                                  3. China                                     21,516            

                                                                                  4. Germany                                17,927            

                                                                                  5. Republic of Korea                    12,386            

                                                                                  6. France                                     7,899  

                                                                                  7. United Kingdom                        4,865  

                                                                                  8. Switzerland                              4,367  

                                                                                  9. Netherlands                             4,198  

                                                                                  10. Sweden                                 3,960

Top 15 Companies having the most applications filing under WIPO’s PCT

1. Panasonic                     2,881

3. ZTE (China)                    2,309

3. Huawei (China)               2,094

4. Qualcomm                     2,036

5. Intel                               1,852

6. Sharp                             1,840

7. Robert Bosch                  1,786

8. Toyota                            1,696

9. Ericson                           1,467

10. Philips                          1,423

11. Siemens                       1,323

12. Mitsubishi                     1,312

13. Samsung                      1,193

14. NEC                             1,190

15. LG                               1,170

Panasonic of Japan, with 2,881 published PCT applications overtook ZTE Corporation of China as the largest filer in 2013.

II. Trademark applications filing under Madrid

The total application: 48,829, representing 6.4% growth compared with 2012. The US accounted for 21.8% of the total growth. Germany, with 6,822 applications, continued to file the largest number of Madrid international applications, followed by the US (6,043) and France (4,239). Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis heads the list of top applicants, with 228 applications in 2013.

Top 10 countries having the most applications filing under Madrid

1. Germany                               6,822   

2. United States of America        6,043   

3. France                                  4,239   

4. Switzerland                            3,070  

5. Italy                                       2,786  

6. United Kingdom                      2,462  

7. China                                     2,359  

8. Japan                                     1,921  

9. Netherlands                            1,461  

10. Australia                               1,263  

III. Design applications filing under Hague

The total application: 2,990, representing 14.8% growth compared with 2012. The most design applications filing under Hague belong to EU countries and the US.

Top 10 countries having the most design applications filing under Hague

1. Switzerland                            662 

2. Germany                               643 

3. Italy                                      419 

4. France                                  293 

5. United States of America        147 

6. Netherlands                           144 

7. Norway                                  70 

8. Turkey                                   70 

9. Sweden                                 49 

10. United Kingdom                    40 

Swiss clock company SWATCH heads the list of top international design applicants, with 113, in the top ten companies having the most applications belong to famous EU companies doing business in the field of electronics, automobile manufacturing, household products, fashion watches and food.

Tran Viet Hung, Former Director of National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam

(Adapted from information of WIPO)