[Intellectual Property Rights] Global Intellectual Property Rights Filings Hit Record High
Contrary to the trend of previous economic downturns, IP filings remain strong at the peak of the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic in 2020 and soar in 2021, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) latest World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report.
Innovators around the world filed 3.4 million patent applications in 2021, up 3.6% year-on-year, with Asian offices receiving 67.6% of the world's total applications. In China (+5.5%), the Republic of Korea (+2.5%) and India (+5.5%), strong growth in local patent filings in 2021 drove global patent filings, pushing Asia's share of filings over the two-thirds threshold. Local patent filing activity declines in 2021 in the United States (-1.2%), Japan (-1.7%), and Germany (-3.9%).
In 2021, growth in trademark filing activity was realized in most countries, with global trademarks reaching 18.1 million by class, up 5.5% year-on-year. The growth in new brand registrations coincided with a boom in entrepreneurial activity and venture capital deals triggered by pandemic disruption. Industrial design filing activity increased by 9.2%. Asian offices saw the largest growth in design filings.
The main contents of the report are summarized below:
World Intellectual Property Indicators 2022
（一）Patents
WIPI's compilation of the latest data on IPRs in some 150 countries and territories reveals a significant increase in patent filings in China, with strong contributions from the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Korea (IPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). These are the main drivers of global growth in 2021.
来源：WIPO官网
WIPI's compilation of the latest data on IPRs in some 150 countries and territories reveals a significant increase in patent filings in China, with strong contributions from the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Korea (IPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). These are the main drivers of global growth in 2021.
来源：WIPO官网
The majority of the top twenty offices - 15 out of 20 - received more patent applications in 2021 than in 2020. The largest increases were reported by South Africa (+63.9%), Israel (+18.3%), Mexico (+12.9%), Australia (+10.6%), and Singapore (+10%) - each reporting double-digit increases. In each of these five authorities, the increase in non-resident applications was the main driver of the overall growth.
（二）Trademarks
In 2021, there were approximately 13.9 million trademark applications filed globally, covering 18.1 million classes. The number of classes designated in applications increased significantly by 5.5% in 2021, the 12th consecutive year of growth. Eighteen of the top 20 offices saw an increase in trademark filing activity.
In fact, 11 bureaux realized double-digit growth in 2021, ranging from 12.7 per cent in the Republic of Korea to 61.8 per cent in the United Kingdom. The source of growth varies across bureaux. For example, growth in domestic filings drove overall growth in Brazil, India and Turkey, while growth in foreign filings contributed mainly to overall growth in Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China had the highest number of filing activities, about 9.5 million by category; it was followed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (899,678), the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union (EUIPO; 497,542), and the offices of India (488,526) and the United Kingdom (450,815).
（三）Industrial Designs
In 2021, some 1.2 million industrial design applications were filed globally, containing 1.5 million designs. in 2021, the number of designs grew by 9.2%. in 2021, applications filed with the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China contained 805,710 designs, representing 53.2% of the world total. This was followed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (117,049), the United Kingdom (74,781), the Republic of Korea (69,248) and Turkey (65,924).
As a result of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the United Kingdom Office received 2.3 times more design applications in 2021 than in 2020, and was the third most active Office in terms of the number of design applications in 2021, moving up four places in the world rankings in one year.
Among the top 20 offices, the United Kingdom (+128.5%), India (+67.6%), Mexico (+38.4%) and Turkey (+38.3%) show strong growth in the volume of design filing activity in 2021. Increases in non-resident filing activity drive overall growth in Mexico and the United Kingdom, while increases in the volume of resident filing activity are the main source of overall growth in India and Turkey.
（四）Plant Varieties
In 2021, about 25,340 plant variety applications were filed globally, a 12% increase from 2020. China's competent authorities received 11,195 plant variety applications in 2021, equivalent to 44.2% of the global total. China was followed by the European Union's Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO; 3,480) and the offices of the United States (1,902), Ukraine (944) and the Netherlands (836).
Among the top five authorities, China (+24.9%) and the United States (+32.8%) show double-digit growth in the number of applications between 2020 and 2021, while Ukraine (-25.1%) receives a significant decrease in the number of applications during the same period.
（五）Geographical Indications
Data from 93 national and regional authorities show that in 2021 there will be around 63,600 protected and valid geographical indications. A geographical indication is a mark used for products with a specific geographical origin and with the qualities or reputation derived from that origin, such as Gruyère for cheese or Tequila for spirits.
China (9,052) reported the highest number of valid GIs, followed by Hungary (7,743), the Czech Republic (6,272), Slovakia (6,112) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (6,087).
The EU countries achieved such a high ranking because the 5,076 geographical indications in force through the EU regional system are valid in every member state.
