China Becomes Second Largest Filer of PCT International Applications in 2017

According to the Patent Cooperation Treaty Yearly Review 2018 recently released by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 243,500 international patent applications were filed under Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in 2017, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.5%.

 

In terms of origin of filings, China has become the second largest filer of PCT applications (48,882) after the US (56,624). Ranking third to fifth during the year were Japan (48,208), Germany (18,982), and Korea (15,763). And three China-based companies, namely, Huawei (4,024 applications), ZTE (2,965), and BOE (1,818), stood first, second, and seventh respectively on 2017's top 10 list of business-sector PCT applicants.

 

In 2017, 52,355 applicants based in 126 countries have filed PCT applications, bringing the cumulative number of international applications under the PCT system to almost 3.5 million since the inception of the system in 1978.