China-based Huawei Technologies, Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea and the U.S.’s Qualcomm were the world’s top users in 2023 of WIPO’s international patent system and innovators in India increased their patent filing activity by nearly 50%, even as demand for international registrations of intellectual property (IP) via WIPO softened slightly.
Demand for patent protection continued to grow in 2022, with innovators in China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Germany leading in filings under WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which simplifies the process of seeking patent protection in multiple countries.
Four of the world’s five biggest science and technology clusters are located in East Asia – one in Japan, two in China, one in Republic of Korea and the fifth in the United States – according to an early release from the 2022 edition of WIPO’s Global Innovation Index (GII).
Innovators filed record numbers of international patent applications via WIPO in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s vast human and economic toll, with leading users China and the U.S. each marking annual growth in filings despite the worldwide spread of the coronavirus.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) today unveiled a new online dashboard that allows member state representatives and other stakeholders to monitor the Organization's operations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
China in 2019 surpassed the United States of America (U.S.) as the top source of international patent applications filed with WIPO amid another year of robust growth for the Organization’s international intellectual property (IP) services, treaty-adherence activity and revenue base.
Asia accounted for more than two-thirds of all patent, trademark and industrial design applications in 2018, with China driving overall growth in demand for intellectual property (IP) rights as the United States of America (U.S.) maintained its primacy in patent applications filed in export markets.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered image search technology that makes it faster and easier to establish the distinctiveness of a trademark in a target market.
Asia-based innovators filed more than half of all international patent applications via WIPO for the first time in 2018 on significant growth from China, India and the Republic of Korea, capping another record-setting year for WIPO’s global intellectual property (IP) services.
Worldwide demand for intellectual property (IP) tools reached record heights in 2017, with China driving the growth in filings for patents, trademarks, industrial designs and other IP rights that are at the heart of the global economy.
China moved into the second position as a source of international patent applications filed via WIPO in 2017, closing in on long-time leader United States of America, in another record year in the use of WIPO's intellectual property services for patents, trademarks and industrial designs.
Worldwide filings for patents, trademarks and industrial designs reached record heights in 2016 amid soaring demand in China, which received more patent applications than the combined total for the United States of America, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the European Patent Office.
China’s ZTE Corporation overtook its crosstown rival Huawei Technologies as the biggest filer of international patent applications via WIPO in 2016 and U.S.-based Qualcomm Inc. claimed third position amid another year of strong demand for WIPO’s intellectual property filing services for patents, trademarks and industrial designs.
Three telecoms giants from China and the United States led international patent filing activity via WIPO in 2014, a fifth consecutive record-breaking year amid overall growth in the Organization’s global intellectual property services.
Global patent filings extended a run of strong annual increases in 2013, underpinned by double-digit growth in China where about a third of the world’s 2.6 million patent applications were filed, followed by the United States of America (US) and Japan as the next-largest recipients.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has unveiled a one-of-a-kind image-search function for its Global Brand Database, adding a new feature that allows users to upload an image to search for visually similar trademark and other brand-information records from among the millions of images in the collection.
The United States of America and China drove record-level patent-filing activity via WIPO in 2013 as the number of annual international patent applications surpassed the 200,000 mark for the first time. International trademark and industrial-design filings also achieved new record-breaking levels.
A new WIPO report shows that in 2012 global patent filings increased at its strongest rate in nearly two decades as industrial-design registration notched its best-ever rate of growth. Intellectual property (IP) filings have sharply rebounded since a 2009 decline at the height of the financial crisis.
Companies around the globe have spent nearly a half-trillion US dollars (USD) annually on branding, exceeding outlays on research and development and design while accounting in some countries for up to a quarter of firms’ overall investments in intangible assets.
Tunisia’s Minister of Industry Mehdi Jomâa and WIPO Director General Francis Gurry today hailed the entry into force of the Madrid Protocol in Tunisia, while reviewing bilateral cooperation and discussing WIPO’s future technical assistance to Tunisia.
India’s Minster for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma today deposited his country’s instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks at WIPO, bringing the total number of members of the international trademark system to 90. The treaty will enter into force with respect to India on July 8, 2013. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.
International filings for patents, trademarks and industrial designs under WIPO-administered intellectual property (IP) systems saw continued strong growth in 2012.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced today a major expansion of its public database of trademark and brand information. The newest addition of six national collections of trademark records – including the entire United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) collection – takes the Global Brand Database from 2.2 to 10.9 million records, making it the world’s largest free, public trademark search facility.
A new WIPO report shows that while the global economy continued to underperform, intellectual property (IP) filings worldwide kept growing strongly in 2011. It also finds that China’s patent office became the largest in the world, as measured by the number of patent applications received. Before 2011, China already accounted for most filings of utility models (UMs), trademarks and industrial designs.
Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Bruno Ferrari deposited his country’s instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry on November 19, 2012, bringing the total number of members of the international trademark system to 89. The treaty will enter into force with respect to Mexico on February 19, 2013. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.
Colombia became the 87th member of the international trademark system following the deposit of its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks by Vice President Angelino Garzón with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry on May 29, 2012. The treaty will enter into force with respect to Colombia, on August 29, 2012. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.
2011 saw the highest number of international trademark applications ever filed under WIPO’s Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks ("Madrid system") with 42,270 applications, or a 6.5 % increase compared to 2010. Applications from the member states of the European Union (EU) accounted for more than half (57.4%) of all international trademark applications, and China remained the most designated country for trademark protection.
International trademark activity recovered in 2010 with WIPO receiving 39,687 applications under the 85-member Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks (“the Madrid system”), representing a 12.8% rate of growth. The largest growth was registered from the Republic of Korea (+42.2%), China (+42%), Italy (+38.7%), United States of America (+29.6%), European Union (+26.9%) and Japan (+20.2%).
A new on-line tool launched by WIPO on March 4, 2011, will make it easier to search over 640,000 records relating to internationally protected trademarks, appellations of origin and armorial bearings, flags and other state emblems as well as the names, abbreviations and emblems of intergovernmental organizations. The Global Brand Database allows free of charge, simultaneous brand-related searches across multiple collections.
WIPO launched on December 20, 2010 an on-line tool - the Madrid System Goods & Services Manager (G&S Manager) - that will help trademark applicants in compiling the list of goods and services that must be submitted when filing an international application under the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks.
WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) met from November 1 to 4, 2010 and made progress on work relating to industrial design law and practice, in addition to matters relating to the Internet and trademarks.
WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) met from June 30 to July 2, 2010 to address industrial design law issues, the protection of state names against registration or use as trademarks, grounds of refusal for trademark registration and collective and certification marks.
Israel joined the international trademark system following the deposit of its instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry this week. The Madrid System, which will become operational in Israel on September 1, 2010, offers trademark owners a cost-effective, user-friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.
International trademark filings under WIPO’s Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (“the Madrid system”) dropped by 16% in 2009 as a result of the global economic downturn, though increases were observed among some major users of the system, notably the European Union (EU) (3.1%) and Japan (2.7%), as well as in the Republic of Korea (ROK) (+33.9%), Singapore (+20.5%), Croatia (+17.5%) and Hungary (+14.5%).
WIPO’s Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT), meeting from June 22 to 26, 2009, examined areas of possible convergence in industrial design law and practice, as well as questions relating to grounds for refusal of all types of marks and technical and procedural aspects of the registration of certification and collective marks.
The number of international trademark registrations topped the one million mark when Austrian “eco” company Grüne Erde, which specializes in natural wood, textile and cosmetic products, registered its mark this month under the WIPO-administered Madrid system for the international registration of marks.
International trademark activity remained robust overall in 2008 with WIPO receiving a record 42,075 applications under the 84-member Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks (“the Madrid system”), representing a 5.3% rate of growth. Filing activity was stronger in the first six months of the year (+6.9% compared to the same period in 2007) than in the second half of 2008 (+3.9%) mirroring a slowdown in global economic conditions.
A new international treaty setting standards for trademark registration procedures will become effective in 2009 following its ratification by Australia on December 16, 2008. This is the tenth ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (“the Singapore Treaty”) and will allow the treaty to enter into force on March 16. 2009.
WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) concluded on December 5, 2008 after endorsing agreement on areas of convergence on “non-traditional marks” - such as holograms and audio marks - trademark opposition procedures, consideration of key issues relating to industrial designs, and new areas of work.
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, welcomed the ratification by the United States of America (USA) on October 1, 2008 of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, an international treaty on trademarks that streamlines and modernizes certain trademark office procedures.
Non-traditional marks, such as holograms and scent marks, trademark opposition procedures, and questions relating to the registration of industrial designs topped the agenda of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) (19th session), which met from July 21 to 25, 2008. The meeting, attended by 82 member states, 4 intergovernmental organizations and 11 non-governmental organizations, focused on exploring ways to establish greater clarity on issues relating to the registration of trademarks and industrial designs.
A record 39,945 international trademark applications were received in 2007 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks, representing a 9.5% increase on figures for 2006. Applicants from Germany, for the 15th consecutive year, led the list of top filers, followed by users in France, the United States of America (USA) and the European Community (EC). China remained the most designated country in international trademark applications reflecting increasing levels of trading activity by foreign companies in China.
New types of marks, such as holograms and scent marks, trademark opposition procedures, and questions relating to the registration of industrial designs topped the agenda of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT). The 18th session of the SCT, which met from November 12 to 16, 2007, was attended by 74 member states, 3 intergovernmental organizations and 11 non—governmental organizations, and focused on key issues that aim to establish more clarity for the international protection of trademarks and industrial designs.
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have stepped up work on a number of topical issues relating to trademarks and industrial designs. This came at a meeting of WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT).
Singapore became the first state to ratify a new international treaty on trademarks, concluded less than one year ago under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and which bears the country’s name in recognition of it having hosted the final round of negotiations that led to the Treaty’s adoption.
A record 36,471 international trademark applications were received in 2006 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks.
The number of cybersquatting disputes filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2006 increased by 25% as compared to 2005. In a related development, the evolution of the domain name registration system is causing growing concern for trademark owners, in particular some of the effects of the use of computer software to automatically register expired domain names and their 'parking' on pay-per-click portal sites, the option to register names free-of-charge for a five-day 'tasting' period, the proliferation of new registrars, and the establishment of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs).
The Minister for Industry, Mines and Technological Development of Cameroon, H.E. Mr. Charles Salé, signed on February 27, 2007, the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks in the context of talks with the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, on strengthening bilateral relations between WIPO and Cameroon and reinforcing the intellectual property infrastructure in the country.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) registered this week the 900,000th mark under the Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks, a user-friendly and cost-effective system for the international registration of marks. At the current rate of growth, it is anticipated that the one millionth mark under the Madrid system will be reached in 2009. The 900,000 milestone was a trademark registered by a Chinese company seeking protection in ten countries on four continents.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched a new service this week that will enable trademark owners to renew their international trademark registrations on-line, making this a more cost-effective and efficient procedure. The new "e-renewal" service which was launched on April 3, 2006, is a simple way of renewing international trademark registrations up to six months before the date on which the payment of the renewal fee is due. The new service is available from WIPO's website at http://www.wipo.int/e-marks.
A new international treaty on trademarks, to be known as the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks in recognition of the country that hosted the final round of negotiations, was adopted on March 28, 2006 by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The new treaty concludes efforts by WIPO's member states to update the 1994 Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) and bring it in line with the technological developments of the past decade.
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, in the presence of Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Professor S. Jayakumar, opened on Monday evening, March 13, 2006, a diplomatic conference on intellectual property (IP) for a new treaty in the field of trademarks. It is the first time that a diplomatic conference organized by WIPO is held in Asia. On Tuesday, March 14, 2006, Dr. Idris attended the first plenary session, which resulted in the election of Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, as President of the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Trademark Law Treaty.
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, wrapped up on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 a two-day official visit to Singapore under the United Nations Distinguished Visitors Programme, a prestigious Singapore programme for outstanding individuals linked to the United Nations system. During his visit he met with Singapore leaders and opened Asia's first diplomatic conference in the field of intellectual property (IP). The visit resulted in a further strengthening of the partnership between WIPO and the Government of Singapore.
A major conference to revise a key international treaty in the field of trademarks, convened by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), opens today in Singapore in the presence of top officials. The three-week conference will be formally launched by WIPO Director General, Dr. Kamil Idris, in the presence of Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law, Professor S. Jayakumar. High-ranking diplomatic delegations from the 183 WIPO member states, many led by senior officials, as well as observer delegations representing the branded goods industry and the trademark profession, will be attending the conference.
A major conference to revise a key international treaty in the field of trademarks will be convened by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Singapore from March 13 to 31, 2006. The Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), hosted by the Government of Singapore, is expected to conclude with the adoption of a new international treaty of particular significance for brand-owners.
A record 33,565 international trademark applications were received in 2005 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks. This represents a 13.9% increase on figures for 2004. Germany, for the 13th consecutive year, led the list of top filers. Applications from developing countries increased by 30.6% over 2004, with China topping the list of users. China also unseated Switzerland as the most designated country in trademark applications. The "Madrid system" is a user-friendly and cost-effective service for the international registration of marks.
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have identified a number of topics relating to trademarks and industrial designs for future consideration. This came at a meeting of WIPO's Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT). The 15th session of the SCT, which met from November 28 to December 2, 2005, was attended by 79 member states, one observer delegation, 4 intergovernmental organizations and 11 non-governmental organizations.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) began this month publishing an on-line edition of the WIPO Gazette of International Marks, the official publication of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks. The Madrid System is a user-friendly and cost-effective service offered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which facilitates the process of securing trademark protection in multiple countries. The on-line version of the Gazette is available on a weekly basis and is free-of-charge. The Gazette is also available on paper and on CD-ROM, on a subscription basis.
Efforts to revise a key international treaty in the field of trademarks made significant headway as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) agreed on a text to be proposed as a basis for negotiations at the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of the Revised Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), which will be convened in March 2006. Also, at a two-day session of the Preparatory Meeting for the Diplomatic Conference, Singapore made an official offer to host the diplomatic conference on the revision of the TLT, which is meant to revise the existing Trademark Law Treaty bringing it in line with the technological advances of the past decade. The SCT, which met from April 18 to 22, 2005, was attended by 79 member states, 3 intergovernmental organizations and 11 non-governmental organizations. The Preparatory meeting met on April 25 & 26, 2005.
Use of the international trademark registration system reached a record level in 2004 with the receipt of 29,459 international trademark applications representing a 23.5% increase on figures for 2003. The international trademark registration system, known as the Madrid system, is a user-friendly and cost-effective service offered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which facilitates the process of securing trademark protection in multiple countries.
Negotiations for the revision of a key international treaty in the field of trademarks gathered pace last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. Delegates attending the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) from October 25 to 29, 2004, made significant progress in fine-tuning legal texts to revise the existing Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) bringing it in line with the technological advances of the past decade.
An international conference organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs) (OHIM) and the European Commission to review the interface between the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Trademarks and the Community Trademark System (CTM) took place at WIPO's Geneva headquarters on October 7. 2004. The link between the Madrid Protocol and the CTM, which became operational on October 1, 2004, following the entry into force of the EC's accession to the Madrid Protocol, offers trademark owners maximum flexibility in the process of obtaining international trademark protection.
A key negotiating committee at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recommended the convening in the first half of 2006 of a Diplomatic Conference that would update the existing Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) to bring it in line with the technological advances of the past decade.
As of April 1, 2004, users of the international trademark system can file applications in Spanish, in addition to English and French, thereby removing language as a barrier for more hispanophone countries to join the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Trademarks, which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) received 23,872 trademark applications in 2003 under a procedure that facilitates the process of seeking trademark protection in multiple countries, known as the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks. This represents a 3% increase over 2002.
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) made headway in discussions to further simplify and streamline procedures for obtaining and maintaining a mark last week at the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT).
As of November 2, 2003, the process of registering trademarks in multiple countries has been greatly enhanced as an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) entered into force in the United States of America (USA). A trademark owner who is a citizen of the USA, or has a domicile or commercial establishment in the USA, and who has an underlying registration or pending application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), may file an international application with the USPTO which designates one or more of the other 60 countries that are party to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol).
Companies and individuals seeking to protect their trademarks in multiple countries will be able to file their applications in the Spanish language as of April 1. 2004 following a decision today by member states attending the annual meeting of Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva from September 22 to October 1, 2003. Currently, international trademark applications under the Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks are required to be submitted in English or French.
Entrepreneurs and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can now consult a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) publication that explains the basics of trademarks from a business perspective. The guide, entitled "Making a Mark: An Introduction to Trademarks for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises", is intended to enhance the reader's understanding of the strategic value of trademarks in business planning.
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, has welcomed the accession by the United States of America to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, a pact that greatly facilitates and reduces the costs for the registration of trademarks in multiple countries.