WIPO recently published the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018. It is detailed 231-page look at global IP (e.g., patent and trademark) activity:
From the Foreword:
"Against the backdrop of solid economic growth worldwide,
global intellectual property (IP) filing activity set
new records in 2017. Patent filings around the world
reached 3.17 million, representing a 5.8% growth on
2016 figures. Trademark filing activity totaled 12.39 million,
up 26.8% on 2016. Industrial design filing activity
exceeded 1.24 million. China remained the main driver
of global growth in IP filings. From already high levels,
patent filings in China grew by 14.2% and trademark
filing activity in China by 55.2%. These high growth
rates propelled China’s shares of global patent filings
and trademarks filing activity to reach 43.6% and
46.3%, respectively.
Japan (+24.2%) and the United States of America
(+12.6%) also saw strong growth in trademark filing
activity. However, both of those countries recorded
almost no growth in patent filings. The Republic of
Korea saw a decline in filing activity for patents and
trademarks for the second consecutive year. Other
notable trends include large increases in trademark
filing activity in the Islamic Republic of Iran (+87.9%),
the United Kingdom (+24.1%) and Canada (+19.5%).
With regard to industrial design filing activity, the United
Kingdom (+92.1%), Spain (+23.5%) and Switzerland
(+17.9%) saw double-digit growth in 2017."
Copyright © 2018 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.
