PDF, PCT Yearly Review - WIPO

16
A.5 PCT Applications by Income Group
Table A.5 presents PCT applications filed from 2006 to 2010 according to the income group of the
applicant’s country of origin.
Table A.5: PCT applications filed by income group
Income Groups
Year of Filing
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
High Income 142,153 150,540 152,839 143,457 147,345
Middle Income 7,243 9,095 10,209 11,890 16,910
Low Income 13 8 18 12 22
Source: WIPO Statistics Database
> The high income group filed an increasing number of PCT applications from year to year until the onset
of the economic crisis in 2008. In 2010, the number of PCT applications by this group increased compared
to 2009 but did not reach its pre-crisis level.
> The middle income group, dominated by China, was not as affected by the crisis as was the high income
group. Its filing trend remained positive during the period shown in table A.5, with a substantial increase
in 2010.
> Use of the PCT system by low income countries is limited. Over the last five years, the main countries of
origin in terms of PCT filings were the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (17 PCT applications),
Kenya (17) and the Lao People's Democratic Republic (7).
Figure A.5: Top 10 middle income countries: PCT applications
1,400
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Average Annual Growth Rate (%): 2005-2010
14.1 2.7 12.8 22.7 59.8 -3.8 6.3 13.1 57.8 48.8 7.3
1,200
PCT Applications
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
India Russian Federation Brazil Turkey Malaysia South Africa Mexico Ukraine Chile Thailand Others
Country of Origin
Source: WIPO Statistics Database
Note: China was not included in the graph due to the significant difference in PCT filings between China and the other middle income group countries. Data for
China are available in paragraph A.2.
> Several countries experienced significant increases in PCT filings from 2005 to 2010. Over this period,
Malaysia (+59.8 %), Chile (+57.8 %) and Thailand (+48.8%) saw the highest average annual growth
rates. However, it should be noted that Chile and Thailand only acceded to the PCT in 2009 and Malaysia
in 2006. Even though it was possible, under more restrictive conditions 6 , for their applicants to file a PCT
application before they acceded to the PCT, their accession strongly promoted PCT filings by applicants
from those countries.
> Over the past five years, notable increases in PCT filings have also been observed from applicants originating
from countries that have been PCT members for more than a decade, such as applicants from
Turkey (+22.7%), India (+14.1%) and Brazil (+12.8%).
6
At least one applicant must be a resident or national of a contracting state.