(13 March 2014, Geneva) The United States of America and China drove record-level patent-filing activity via WIPO in 2013 as the number of annual international patent applications surpassed the 200,000 mark for the first time. International trademark and industrial design filings also achieved new record-breaking levels.
The total number of filings under WIPO’s Patent and Cooperation Treaty (PCT)1 applications filed in 2013 amounted to 205,300, representing 5.1% growth compared with 2012.2 The United States of America (US) saw double digit growth in PCT filings and together with China accounted for 56% and 29% of the total PCT growth, respectively.
With 57,239 applications in 2013, the US exceeded in 2013 its previous filing peak of 54,046 applications reached prior to the global financial crisis in 2007. China surpassed Germany to become the third largest user of the PCT system, with Japan as the second-highest user. The US remains the most-active user of the system.
Much more detail here.
