Record Year for International Patent Applications in 2016, up 7.3% from 2015; Strong Demand Also for Trademark and Industrial Design Protection – WIPO press release

By Richard Gearhart
Founding Partner

The PCT, or Patent Cooperation Treaty, is a treaty between 152 countries.  It facilitates inventors’ filing their patent applications in foreign countries by providing a relatively inexpensive ‘date holder’ in all 152 countries until the inventor decides which foreign countries they want to pursue their patent applications in. This gives an inventor time to test the markets in various countries and choose the best ones for their business before spending a lot of money.  WIPO is the World Intellectual Property Organization which oversees the PCT filings.

So what does an increase in PCT applications mean?  It means that inventors around the world are planning to make and sell their inventions all over the world, even more so than in previous years, and they want patent protection.  It means more international cooperation and possibly more trade.

The data for the top 10 countries is below.  Of interest; while the US is still in the lead, China increased its PCT filings by 44% from 2015 to 2016!

From the WIPO press release (cited below):
“In an interlinked, knowledge-based global economy, creators and innovators are increasingly relying on intellectual property to promote and protect their competitive edge around the world,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “China-based filers are behind much of the growth in international patent and trademark filings, making great strides in internationalizing their businesses as the country continues its journey from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’.”

This data was taken from the World Intellectual Property Organization press release; the link is here: http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2017/article_0002.html

Country            # of 2016      % of world    % change    % of world
                        PCT filings     PCT filings    from 2015    population

U.S.                    56,595              24.3              -0.9               4.4
Japan                45,239               19.4               2.7                 1.7
China                 43,168               18.5              44.7              18.6
Germany            18,315                 7.9                 1.7                1.1
Rep. of Korea    15,560                6.7                6.8               0.7
France                8,208                3.5               -2.5               0.9
U.K.                     5,496                2.4                3.9               0.9
Netherlands       4,679                 2.0                8.0               0.2
Switzerland        4,365                 1.9                 2.3               0.1
Sweden               3,720                1.6                -3.2               0.1

Country population data from Wikipedia, link below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_%28United_Nations%29

About the Author

Richard Gearhart, Esq. is the founder of Gearhart Law and the host of a weekly radio show for entrepreneurs called “Passage to Profit”. He has built a firm with an international presence that helps entrepreneurs from around the world with their patent, trademark and copyright needs. Richard commands a breadth of experience that comes from nearly 30 years of practice in the writing and prosecution of hundreds of patents, and in all aspects of Intellectual Property law. In 2022, Richard was recognized by ROI New Jersey as a 2022 ROI Influencer in the Law List category for being one of the best of the best in New Jersey for intellectual property law. Gearhart Law emerged from Richard’s passion for entrepreneurship and startups and his belief that entrepreneurship grows the economy and creates jobs. When we started Gearhart Law, our goal was to help and support the new business ventures of 500 entrepreneurs and inventors. After 12 years, the firm has far surpassed this goal; today, we look forward to helping even more inventors and entrepreneurs get off to a great start and reach their own goals.