Asia IP

These preliminary statistics are based on applications submitted before June 30, 2014 and may potentially be affected by withdrawals, abandonments, applicant information changes, etc.

1. Application Trends

          A. IP applications for the second quarter of 2014 totaled 110,033 — a 1.1% increase over the same period in 2013.

                   i. Patent and trademark applications increased by 5.2% and 1.3%, respectively, while utility models and design applications decreased by 23.3% and 7.3%, respectively.

          B. In regard to nationality, the number of domestic and foreign applicants increased by 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively.

                   i. Within Korea, Seoul recorded the highest number of applications with 36,428. Gyeonggi (26,671) and Daejeon (4,148) came in second and third.

                   ii. The number of applications submitted by Americans totalled 5,146 — the highest of any foreign country — while the number of applicants from Japan (4,456), Germany (1,182), China (795), and France (712) trailed most closely behind.

          C. The number of individual applicants was 41,306 (40,520 domestic and 786 foreign), with corporate bodies accounting for an additional 47,259 applications (13,758 for major companies, 4,791 for medium-sized companies, and 28,710 for small-sized companies). Meanwhile, IP applications from universities and schools totalled 3,991.

                   i. Applications from individuals and universities/schools increased by 10.2% and 1.4% respectively, while applications from corporate bodies decreased by 5.7%

          D. Patent and utility model applications submitted by Samsung Electronics totalled 1,626 — the highest among domestic entities—with Electronics, ETRI, LG Chem, Samsung Display, and LG Innotec following most closely behind.

2. Registration Trends

          A. IP registrations during the second quarter totaled 72,060 — a 5.5% increase over the same period in 2013.

       B. In regard to nationality, domestic and foreign registrations increased by 5.9% and 3.8%, respectively.

                   i. Patent registrations by domestic residents and foreigners increased by 9.5% and 8.6%, respectively.

                   ii. Within Korea, Seoul recorded the highest number of registrations with 23,124.Gyeonggi (14,802), Daejeon (2,697), Incheon (2,628), Chungnam (2001) trailed most closely behind.

                   iii. Registrations for Japanese applicants totalled 4,641 — the highest of any foreign country — with the United States of America (3,833), Germany (1,161), China (702), and France (654) following most closely behind.

        C. The number of registrations for individual applicants totaled19,648 (16,969 domestic and 2,679 foreign),and registrations for corporate bodies totaled 35,163 (11,908 for major companies, 4,424 for medium-sized companies, and 18,831 for small-sized companies). Meanwhile, successful university and school registrations totalled 2,999.

                   i. Registrations for individuals, corporate bodies, and universities/schools increased by 7.4%, 8%, and 11%, respectively, in comparison to the same period in 2013.

          D. Samsung Electronics acquired 1,049 patent and utility model registrations—the highest among domestic entities — with LG Electronics, POSCO, Hyundai Motors, and LG Display following most closely behind.

3. Examination and Judgment

          A. Patent examination requests in the second quarter of 2014 totaled 39,380 — a 1% decrease from the same period in 2013

                   i. Patent examination requests for the first half of 2014 totaled76,893 —up 2% from 2013.

                ii. PCT international examination requests totaled 7,718 — up 12% from the same period in 2013.

          B. IP judgment requests in the second quarter of 2014 totaled2,959 — a 22.3% decrease from the same period in 2013. The number of actual judgments totalled 6,089 — a 16.9% decrease from the same period in 2013.

Regarding IPRs, the number of requests for patent, utility model, and trademark judgments totalled 1,838, 73, and 887, respectively — a decrease of 22.4%, 39.7%, and 24.1%, respectively — while the number of design judgment requests totalled 161 — a 5.9% increase over the same period in 2013.