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Global Patent Filings Rise in 2014 for Fifth Straight Year

Issued: March 02 2016

Innovators filed some 2.7 million patent applications globally to mark another worldwide annual rise in 2014, as application activity in China outstripped the combined total in its next-closest followers, the United States and Japan.


Local businesses have become more aware of the benefits of patents. “This is especially true to the technology companies that are trying to protect their valuable assets through patent protection,” says Howard Hao, a patent partner at Chang Tsi & Partners in Beijing. “Another reason for this trend is the threshold for getting utility model and design patents, which is a lot lower than invention patent application. These two types of patents do not require substantial examination with lower costs and process time.”


Trademark and plant variety filings also showed strong growth in 2014, while industrial design applications declined for the first time in two decades, according to the 2015 edition of World Intellectual Property Indicators, WIPO’s annual report on the latest trends in IP activity worldwide.


Patents. In total, innovators filed some 2.7 million patent applications worldwide in 2014, up 4.5% from 2013. For each year since 2003 with the exception of 2009, patent applications have grown. Filings in China were the main driver of growth in 2014. The global total consists of 1.8 million resident filings and 0.9 million nonresident filings.


The number of non-resident filings continues to increase stably at a relatively moderate rate, while the number of resident filings is booming. “This is because more local businesses and individuals are seeking patent protection,” Hao says. “This is especially important for China [as it] transitions from a manufacturing economy to an innovation-orientated economy. For a successful transition, China will have to become a cradle for new technology and become more friendly to the inventors – patents are the most useful tool to protect new technology.”


China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has handled the increased workload very well so far. “It has established several satellite offices in other cities and the number of examiners keeps growing. The average period for SIPO to issue the first office action is even shorter than the USPTO,” Hao says. “The backlog was serious at the beginning of the 21st century, but now it is not.”


US applicants filed the most applications abroad (224,400), followed by those from Japan (200,000) and Germany (105,600). By contrast, Chinese applicants filed comparatively few applications abroad – only around 36,700.


“Cost is one of the main reasons restraining Chinese applicants to file abroad. For example, filing in the US may cost more than Rmb100,000 (US$15,200),” Hao says. “There is also a gap of perceptions of investment and return about patent filing overseas. Chinese applicants need time to learn the necessity of filing abroad and balance the costs and benefits. We foresee that the number of the applications filed abroad will increase greatly, especially when many Chinese companies, such as Xiaomi and OPPO, are ambitious to enter the American, European and Japanese markets.”


Trademarks. Trademark applications have almost doubled since 2000. The total number of classes specified in applications reached 7.45 million in 2014, up 6% on 2013. China drove this growth in filings. Residents filing for protection within their domestic jurisdiction accounted for three-quarters of global filing activity.


“Because of the [first to file] principle practice in China, there have been trademark squatters who take advantage of it,” says Simon Tsi, founding partner at Chang Tsi & Partners. “Increasingly, both domestic and overseas entities are starting to adapt the conventions in China. Business entities hope to have a trademark strategy that includes both filing for use and protection in a broader scope.”


Trademarks were sought most often in advertising and business management sector. In 2014, this category accounted for 9.8% of total filing activity. It was followed by the clothing industry and by scientific, photographic, measuring instruments, recording equipment, computers and software.


The total number of trademark registrations issued worldwide in 2014 increased markedly by 16.3% to reach 3.49 million. China accounted for most of this growth.


Industrial Designs. For the first time in more than 20 years, the total number of designs contained in all industrial design applications filed worldwide in 2014 dropped by 8.1% to about 1.14 million in 2014. The fall was mainly due to a sharp decrease in filings by Chinese residents.


Some measures taken by SIPO to reduce the number of design filings have been effective. Tsi says. “For example, a 2D design containing primarily trademarks cannot be granted. This is one part of the actions aimed at improving patent quality.”


Plant Varieties. Plant variety applications reached a new record in 2014 with around 15,600 filings worldwide. The 3.3% increase in 2014 marks the fourth consecutive year of growth.


Plant variety applications are not regulated by Chinese patent law, and few patent agencies are familiar with the practice. “Many scientists developing plant varieties have not gotten used to seeking protection of plant varieties,” Tsi says. “The government has issued some regulations to encourage more plant variety applications.”