


Offices located in North America accounted for almost one-fifth (19.3%) of the world total, while those in Europe accounted for just over one-tenth (10.9%). Offices located in Asia received two-thirds (66.6%) of all applications filed worldwide in 2020 – a considerable increase from 51.5% in 2010 –driven by long-term growth in China as well as increased IP activity in other parts of Asia. Together, these five offices accounted for 85.1% of the world total.Īmong the top 10 offices, only three offices – China (+6.9%), India (+5.9%) and the Republic of Korea (+3.6%) – recorded growth in applications in 2020, while Germany (–7.9%) and Japan (–6.3%) saw a steep declines. was followed by Japan (JPO 288,472), the Republic of Korea (KIPO 226,759) and the European Patent Office (EPO 180,346).

This was 2.5 times more than the amount received by the patent office of the second leading country, the United States (USPTO 597,172). In 2020, China’s IP office reported growth again with 1.5 million patent applications. Worldwide patent-filing activity returned to growth in 2020 after the first dip in a decade in 2019, driven by a decline in China. Note: * indicates trademark classes and designs contained in applications allow for cross-border comparison, as some countries require individual filings for each class or design, while others allow for multiple classes/designs in a single filing. “The WIPI is an important tool to understand the landscape to see where innovation is happening around the world,” said Assistant Director General Marco Aleman, who oversees WIPO’s work relating to statistics, adding “We live in a world of data-driven decisions, so this report helps policy makers and others plan for the future.” The annual WIPI report collects and analyzes IP data to inform policy makers, business leaders, investors, academics and others seeking macro trends in innovation and creativity. Despite the difficult situation, enterprises are finding opportunities to reach customers in new ways, open up new markets and bring their ideas to the world using IP." Tang said: "This shows how enterprises across the globe have brought new products and services to the market, as reflected by the double-digit growth in trademarks filing activity in 2020 despite the massive economic shock. Tang.Ĭommenting on the particularly strong growth in trademark filings in 2020, Mr. This is in contrast to the financial crisis of 2008-2009, when both patent and trademark filing activity contracted sharply, said Mr. “WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators Report confirms that despite the deepest economic contraction in decades, intellectual property filings - a strong indicator of innovation - showed remarkable resilience during the pandemic,” said WIPO Director General Daren Tang. Trademark filing activity rose by 13.7%, patents by 1.6% and designs by 2% according to the WIPI, which compiles new data from some 150 national and regional authorities and shows how innovators, designers and brands are increasingly relying on intellectual property tools to expand their enterprises and seek new growth. WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators Report (WIPI) also showed that patent and industrial designs filing activity rebounded in 2020, illustrating the resilience of human innovation even amid the dire global health situation. Worldwide trademark-filing activity boomed in 2020, defying a global economic downturn and signaling vibrant entrepreneurship and the introduction of new goods and services in response to the pandemic. Go to: Patents | Trademarks | Industrial designs | Plant varieties | Geographical indications World Intellectual Property Indicators Report: Worldwide Trademark Filing Soars in 2020 Despite Global Pandemic
