PCT Intellectual property applications being actively filed despite COVID-19
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) recently announced a PCT application trend for the first half of this year by analyzing PCT application statistics provided by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The total number of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) applications for domestic cases in the first half of this year is 8,466, 4th highest in the world, after China (31,491 cases), the USA (29,762 cases) and Japan (25,434 cases). Korea maintained its standing after overtaking Germany’s 4th place last year, and this meaningful status shows the country’s firm position in the global patent market.
<Annual PCT application case(s) of the top 5 countries>
* Korea is maintaining 4th place in the first half of 2021 after overtaking Germany for 4th place in 2020
Also, the total number of international trademark applications filed through the Madrid Protocol during the same period was 977 cases, which shows a 46% growth, an increase of 300 cases, compared to the last year. The country’s ranking also rose two places compared to the same period a year ago, and Korea entered the Top 10 countries worldwide for the first time. Such a rapid increase in the filing of global trademark applications can seemingly be attributed to the active efforts of domestic corporations to protect their trademarks internationally as their overseas expansions increased.
<Annual number of international trademark applications and ranking of Korea>
* After entering the top 20 in 2010, Korea entered the top 10 after a 10-year hiatus
<Number of international trademark applications and ranking of countries compared to the same period last year>
* Korea rose 2 places by showing a significant increase (approximately 46%) in application filings among the countries that filed international trademark applications.
Lastly, Korea took 1st place (497 cases) for the number of international design application cases filed pursuant to Hague Convention, which the country held 1st place in the corresponding field since 2016.
<Annual number of international design application cases>
* Korea has maintained 1st place for filing international design applications since 2016.
The director of the International Application Division of KIPO stated “Despite the global economic recession caused by COVID-19, international applications for patents, trademarks, and designs are being actively filed in Korea. This shows that domestic corporations are actively securing overseas intellectual properties to strengthen their global competitive edge. KIPO is providing active administrative services to assist such efforts, including international filing briefing sessions, education provided by local intellectual property centers and publication of integrated newsletters regarding international filings, and KIPO is also planning to invest in future efforts promoting the importance of international filing.”
[Source: KIPO]