The World Intellectual Property Indicators report has been released recently by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This edition of the report collected and analysed IP data from some 150 national and regional offices around the world in year 2019, predating the COVID 19 pandemic.

 

According to the report, 3.22 million patent applications were filed around the globe in 2019, a 3% drop from 2018 and the first decline in a decade, mainly reflecting China's fall in patent filings amidst an overall shift in regulations in the country to optimise the structures for patent applications and improve the quality of applications.

 

Despite the drop in filings, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) still received the highest number of patent applications (1,400,661) worldwide in 2019, which was followed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO, 621,453 applications); the Japan Patent Office (JPO, 307,969 applications); the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO, 218,975 applications); and the European Patent Office (EPO, 181,479 applications). These top five offices accounted for 84.7% of the world total in 2019. And by region, Asia remained to be the main driver of patent filings in 2019, accounting for 65% of all patent applications filed worldwide.

 

International patent applications filed via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) grew by 5.2% to 265,800 applications in 2019, a tenth consecutive year of growth. Applicants residing in China (58,990 applications), the US (56,840), and Japan (52,660) filed the most PCT patent applications during the year.

 

As for trademark applications, about 11.5 million trademark applications, covering 15.2 million classes, were filed worldwide in 2019, representing a 5.8% growth rate and marking a tenth consecutive year of growth. The top three offices by class count of the applications were the CNIPA (7,833,081), the USPTO (672,681), and the JPO (546,244).

 

For industrial designs, about 1.04 million applications, covering 1.36 million designs, were filed worldwide in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 1.7%. The CNIPA, with 711,617 designs, accounted for 52.3% of designs applications filed worldwide during the year, while the second and third offices in terms of filing activity were European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, 113,319 designs), and the KIPO (69,360 designs).

 

In 2019, around 21,430 plant variety applications were filed worldwide, up 7.8% on 2018, a fourth consecutive year of growth. The CNIPA remained the top filer during the year, with 7,834 applications, a 36% year-on-year growth, accounting for over one-third of the plant varieties filed worldwide. The CNIPA was followed by the office of the European Union (3,525 applications) and the US (1,590).

 

As for geographical indications (GIs), about 55,800 protected GIs were in existence worldwide in 2019. The top three countries which had the most GIs in force during the year were Germany (14,289), China (7,834), and Hungary (6,494).