Hard on the heels of Export Week, figures have been released for the number of international patent application filings in 2013. These reveal yet another year of overall growth and record breaking numbers of international patent application filings - approximately 205,300 (an overall increase of 5.1% over 2012s figures).
However, Germany and the UK are both bucking the trend. Germany is down by 4.5% compared to the UK reduction of 0.6%, but Germany still managed to file over 3 times as many as the UK. France managed 50% more than the UK. This is despite the UK corporation tax concessions (eg Patent Box) aimed at encouraging R&D and patent activity.
The USA and Japan remain the top two filers of international patent applications, accounting for around half between them. China has now overtaken Germany as the 3rd largest filer. The UK keeps its position in the top 10, coming in at number 7 in the world rankings.
The figures come from the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), the organisational body which oversees the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). WIPOs press release can be found here.
Michael Skinner (01902 271487)