According to statistics compiled by the WIPO, Korea filed a total of 2,318 PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) applications, moving the nation up in the ranking from its 11th spot (1,514 PCT applications filed)
in the previous year to number 8. The United States remained in first place with 43,000 applications, followed by Germany (13,616), Japan (11,846), UK (6,233), France (4,619), Sweden (3,502), and the
Netherlands (3,187). Canada and Switzerland followed Korea with 2,030 and 2,011 filings, respectively.
International patent applications by way of the PCT passed the 100,000 application-mark for the first time in history due to a 10% annual increase of filings from the previous year. China and India
doubled their PCT filings for two consecutive years, with 1,670 applications (188.4% increase) and 361 applications (102.6% increase), respectively, the fastest growths among the 115 signatory countries.
Experts predict China to quickly climb the charts and make its way into the top ten by next year.
HANYANG