China's international patent filings rise sharply in 2006
8/2/2007 16:23
China is making more use of the international patent system, with its
patent applications rising sharply in 2006, the World Intellectual Property
Organization ( WIPO) said yesterday.
China made a total number of 3,910
international patent applications in 2006, an increase of 56.8 percent compared
with the previous year, said the UN agency overseeing international
property.
The Republic of Korea, another northeast Asian country, also saw a
sharp rise of its international patent filings in 2006. It filed a total number
of 5,935 applications, a rise of 26.6 percent compared with 2005.
By applying
for international patents through WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty, companies
can seek protection for an invention in a large number of countries at
once.
Worldwide patent applications rose 6.4 percent to a record number of
145,300 in 2006.
According to WIPO, the United States remains the world's
largest international patent filers, with just under 50,000 applications in
2006, accounting for 34.1 percent of the world's total applications.
Those
followed the United States in terms of total patent application numbers were
Japan, Germany, the Republic of Korea, France, Britain, the Netherlands and
China.
"The number of international patent applications continues to rise
with impressive growth from northeast Asian countries," said Francis Gurry,
WIPO' deputy director-general, at a press conference in Geneva.
"Innovation
has been traditionally dominated by Europe and North America. New centers of
innovation - in particular in northeast Asia - are emerging and this is
transforming both the geography of the patent system and of future global
economic growth," he added.
Xinhua
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