Chinese telecom companies top international patent filing rankings

The number of international patent applications filed under the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) continued to rise in 2014. This is the fifth consecutive year that PCT filings have risen. In all some 215,000 applications for patents were registered during the year, a 4.5 percent increase on figures for 2013. The most active users of the PCT system are telecom companies; China’s Huawei and ZTE occupy first and third places in the rankings, with USA-based Qualcomm at number two.

Applications from companies in China soared by 18.7 percent in 2014. China is now the third most active user of the PCT system. Companies in the USA filed the greatest number of applications, with Japan occupying second place.

The fields of technology that accounted for most filings in 2014 were computer technology, digital communication and electronic machinery.

Rise in international trademark applications

The number of international trademark applications filed under the so called Madrid System also rose in 2014. The total of just slightly fewer than 48,000 applications represents a 2.3 percent year-on-year increase. Here it was three pharmaceutical companies that topped the list: Novartis of Switzerland, the Glaxo Group in the UK and Hungary’s Egis Gyógyszergyár.

Footnote: Both the PCT system and the Madrid System are administered by the UN agency the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).