The Global Innovation Index 2012

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THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX 2012 1: The GII Conceptual Framework
Box 1: Patent and trademark statistics now based on ‘equivalent counts’
As of this year, patent applications and trademark
applications/registrations are based on
‘equivalent counts’ as opposed to simple
counts. In addition, trademark applications/
registrations are based on ‘equivalent class
counts’, to take into account multi-class
systems. These new measures consider the
multiplying effect of filings made at regional
offices, and are therefore more comparable
across countries.
These new definitions are not limited
to resident data, but they apply to resident
and filing-abroad data alike. One immediate
effect of this new measurement system
is the higher volume of application/
grant/registration figures for patents and
trademarks (Figure 1.1). Statistics at the
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system
or the Madrid system, however, were not
affected.
Equivalent counts for patents concern
the Eurasian Patent Organization
(EAPO) and the African Intellectual Property
Organization (OAPI). In contrast, for the
European Patent Office (EPO) and the African
Regional Intellectual Property Organization
(ARIPO), each application/grant/registration
is counted as one application abroad
if the applicant does not reside in a member
state, or as one resident and one application
abroad if the applicant resides in a
member state.
Equivalent counts for trademarks apply
to offices such as the Office of Harmonization
for the Internal Market (OHIM, which covers
the 27 countries of the European Union), or
the Benelux Office of Intellectual Property
(BOIP).
Trademark applications/registrations
are based on equivalent class counts. For
each trademark application, one or more
classes may be specified, depending on
whether the national office has a single- or
multi-class filing system. For example, the
offices of Japan, the Republic of Korea and
the United States of America, as well as
many European offices, have multi-class filing
systems. The offices of Brazil, China, and
Mexico follow a single-class filing system,
requiring a separate application for each
class in which applicants seek trademark
protection. Such a single-class system can
result in much higher numbers of applications/registrations.
To improve international
comparability between offices, the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
has analysed the number of classes specified
in trademark applications and registrations
with time series going back to 2004, while
taking into account whether an office has a
single- or multi-class fling system. Statistics
concerning class refer to the 45 classes of
the International Classification of Goods and
Services for the Purposes of the Registration
of Marks under the Nice Agreement (www.
wipo.int/classifications/en/). The first 34 of
the 45 classes represent goods, and the
remaining 11 refer to services.
SOUrCE: WIPO.
Figure 1.1: Equivalent and simple counts: Patent and trademark data, top five countries of origin
1.1a: Patent applications, 2010 (thousands) 1.1b: Trademark applications, 2010 (thousands)
Thousands
500
400
300
200
100
0
Japan
USA
China
Korea, Rep.
Germany
Thousands
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
Germany
USA
China
n Simple count
n Equivalent count
UK
France