PDF, PCT Yearly Review - WIPO

11
SECTION A – USE OF THE PCT SYSTEM
INTERNATIONAL PHASE: FILING OF PCT APPLICATIONS
This section presents the key statistical trends and patterns for the international phase. It briefly describes
the global trend, analyzes PCT applications by country of origin, income group and the applicant’s
geographical region; 5 it then presents the ranking of top applicants and a breakdown of applications by field
of technology.
GLOBAL TREND
A.1 Trend in PCT Applications
Figure A.1 depicts the number of PCT applications filed since 1990 and annual growth rates. The underlying
data are based on the international filing date of PCT applications.
Figure A.1: Trend in PCT applications
PCT Applications Growth Rate (%)
200,000
150,000
PCT Applications
100,000
50,000
0
33.5
15.6
11.0
14.7 17.4 17.0 20.5 18.4 17.5
22.1
13.8 16.1
11.5
2.0 4.4 6.4
9.4 6.9
2.1
5.7
-4.5
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
International Filing Year
Source: WIPO Statistics Database
> In 2010, an estimated 164,300 PCT applications were filed, representing a 5.7% increase compared to
the previous year. Due to the economic recovery, the number of PCT applications filed in 2010 exceeded
the 2008 level.
> Since the inception of the PCT system in 1978, about 1.98 million PCT applications have been filed
worldwide.
5
The income groups correspond to those used by the World Bank. The groupings by region and subregion are based on the United Nations
definition of regions.