Record Demand for WIPO Services in 2007

In 2007, WIPO saw an increase both in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications and in international trademark registrations under the Madrid system, as well as an unprecedented number of complainants filing cybersquatting cases.

PCT - 30 years and going strong

The PCT received a record 156,100 applications (provisional estimate) in 2007, an average of over 400 applications per day. The most notable growth rates came from countries in northeast Asia, which accounted for a quarter of all international applications. Applications from China grew by 38.1 percent as compared to 2006 and the Republic of Korea by 18.8 percent, making the latter the fourth top filing PCT country. However, the US, Japan and Germany preserved their spots at the top of the list.

The largest number of applications from developing countries came from the Republic of Korea (7,061), China (5,456), India (686), South Africa (390), Brazil (384), Mexico (173), Malaysia (103), Egypt (41), Saudi Arabia (35) and Colombia (31). The PCT currently has 138 member countries, 108 of which are developing countries.

Matsushita (Japan) moved into first place on the list of top PCT users with 2,100 published applications, overtaking the Dutch multi-national Philips Electronics N.V. Siemens (Germany) retained third place, while Huawei Technologies (China) jumped nine places to become the fourth largest applicant.

The largest proportion of PCT applications published in 2007 related to inventions in the fields of telecommunications (10.5 percent), information technology (10.1 percent) and pharmaceuticals (9.3 percent). The fastest growing technology areas are nuclear engineering (24.5 percent increase) and telecommunications (15.5 percent).

As the PCT celebrates 30 years of operations in 2008, "WIPO will continue to enhance the System and its operations," says WIPO Deputy Director General Francis Gurry, "to ensure that applicants benefit from access to ever-more efficient, cost-effective quality services of the highest caliber."

PCT Applications - Top 10 Countries of Origin	2006	2007 estimate	Share of 2007 total	Growth over 2006
US	50'941	52'280	33.5%	2.6%
Japan	27'033	27'731	17.8%	2.6%
Germany	16'732	18'134	11.6%	8.4%
Republic of Korea	5'944	7'061	4.5%	18.8%
France	6'242	6'370	4.1%	2.1%
United Kingdom	5'090	5'553	3.6%	9.1%
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