WIPO Director General Francis Gurry
The World Intellectual Property Organization released the data on global patent activities trends for 2011 and announced that, despite the “uncertainty and fragility” of the global economy, patent filings grew by close to 8% last year. The big announcement, however, was that the Chinese office has now overtaken the USPTO as the largest patent office in the world. The number of patents filed by the top three offices were China at 526,412 applications, the United States at 503,582, and Japan at 342,610 applications. It is interesting to note that for 100 years before 2011, only three patent offices – Germany, Japan and the United States – held the position of the largest office. The breakdown shows that nonresident applications continue to rise above resident applications, reflecting the steady intensification of the globalized economy where companies are seeking protection abroad. Although Japan was third overall, it continues to be number 1 in the number of applications by country of origin. Watch the video of WIPO Director General Francis Gurry
