PDF, PCT Yearly Review - WIPO

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> The most significant declines were in the fields of telecommunications (-15.0%), instruments control
(-11.9%) and textile and paper machines (-10.0%).
> Technological fields that saw substantial growth in 2010 include digital communication (+17.3%), semiconductors
(+4.2%) and materials, metallurgy (+3.8%).
A.14 Top Country of Origin: Fields of Technology
Table A.14 presents the number of published PCT applications per field of technology for each of the top
10 countries of origin.
Table A.14: Field of technology: top 10 countries
Technical Field
Country of Origin
CH CN DE FR GB JP KR NL SE US
I Electrical engineering
1 Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy 239 485 1 374 342 235 2 698 468 318 83 2,064
2 Audio-visual technology 46 175 204 146 89 1 788 347 133 65 855
3 Telecommunications 32 784 183 326 97 1 309 1 016 104 337 1,443
4 Digital communication 42 3 119 247 452 143 1 241 777 133 833 2,397
5 Basic communication processes 24 59 80 68 32 345 40 76 38 421
6 Computer technology 86 493 426 400 236 1 757 416 301 221 4,032
7 IT methods for management 21 32 40 57 49 180 212 24 35 1,085
8 Semiconductors 52 122 491 168 73 2 136 406 140 28 1,945
II Instruments
9 Optics 39 130 288 127 106 1 789 215 130 42 1,049
10 Measurement 220 148 898 420 279 1 275 187 342 124 1,645
11 Analysis of biological materials 47 26 147 106 89 205 64 52 33 728
12 Control 57 61 281 111 92 394 76 64 44 578
13 Medical technology 231 179 851 313 361 1 173 289 433 191 4,817
III Chemistry
14 Organic fine chemistry 267 173 707 379 268 836 222 103 63 1,597
15 Biotechnology 159 118 394 241 210 549 200 159 39 2,139
16 Pharmaceuticals 335 249 461 365 308 710 280 121 116 3,179
17 Macromolecular chemistry, polymers 66 51 435 131 39 784 95 100 13 797
18 Food chemistry 107 42 86 49 67 240 73 116 14 386
19 Basic materials chemistry 121 101 724 157 155 777 142 170 19 1,667
20 Materials, metallurgy 46 103 381 187 70 842 120 44 44 518
21 Surface technology, coating 53 59 298 109 62 749 77 36 18 700
22 Micro-structural and nano-technology 7 3 31 10 4 33 52 11 4 142
23 Chemical engineering 93 102 522 201 161 497 140 118 80 1,046
24 Environmental technology 46 63 261 144 73 414 102 89 47 523
IV Mechanical engineering
25 Handling 245 92 453 139 143 519 144 112 54 916
26 Machine tools 58 92 560 108 65 596 107 24 82 584
27 Engines, pumps, turbines 64 133 946 302 156 795 159 47 79 854
28 Textile and paper machines 83 66 288 57 49 466 73 41 29 471
29 Other special machines 110 86 461 218 137 670 147 139 88 882
30 Thermal processes and apparatus 52 141 298 116 71 494 167 34 55 462
31 Mechanical elements 62 107 1 059 199 153 744 100 61 131 856
32 Transport 75 159 1 220 576 183 1 098 180 80 228 839
V Other fields
33 Furniture, games 90 178 294 100 179 267 243 104 62 889
34 Other consumer goods 58 146 381 171 138 341 369 53 27 666
35 Civil engineering 66 166 402 229 241 235 223 120 85 1,244
Source: WIPO Statistics Database
Note: Two-letter country codes are used for: CH (Switzerland), CN (China), DE (Germany), FR (France), GB (United Kingdom), JP (Japan), KR (Republic of Korea),
NL (Netherlands), SE (Sweden) and US (US).