PCT Yearly Review - WIPO

Section A
use of the pct system
A.7.3 PCT national phase entries per PCT
application by country of origin
Figures A.7.3.1 and A.7.3.2 show the average number
of NPEs per PCT application for the top 15 high-income
and middle-income origins. To derive the average, NPEs
are compared with PCT applications filed 12 months
earlier (i.e., 2011 NPE data are compared with 2010
PCT filings, both on an aggregate level), as applicants
usually enter the PCT national phase within 18 months
of the international filing date. Not all PCT applications
enter the national phase, so the numbers presented are
downward biased.
The average number of NPEs per PCT application was
3.1 in 2011. For high-income origins, each PCT application
resulted in an average of 3.2 NPEs, which is slightly higher
than the overall average. However, for middle-income
origins the average was 1.3, significantly lower than the
overall average. The average number of NPEs per PCT
application has increased over time for both high- and
middle-income origins.
Applicants from Switzerland had the highest number
of NPEs per PCT application (with 4.8), followed by the
Netherlands (4.2). Eleven of the top 15 high-income origins
had comparatively higher averages than the overall
average of 3.1, and nine were higher than the average
for high-income countries (3.2).
The top 15 middle-income origins had lower numbers of
NPEs per PCT application (1.3) than their high-income
counterparts. Of the middle-income origins, South Africa
had the highest number of NPEs per PCT application
(3.3), followed by Colombia (3.1) and Mexico (3). Although
China had a significantly higher number of NPEs than
South Africa and Colombia, it had a much lower average
number of NPEs per PCT application, with an average
of one NPE per PCT application.
Figure A.7.3.1: Average number of national phase entries per PCT application for
the top 15 high-income origins, 2011
Average PCT national phase entries
-0.2 0.5 0.4 0.2 -0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 -0.0 0.1 0.0 -0.1 -0.5 -0.1 -0.2
Change from 2010
4.8
4.2
4.0
3.9 3.8
3.5 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.2
3.0
2.4
2.1
1.5
Switzerland
Netherlands
United Kingdom
France
Australia
Sweden
Israel
Italy
Germany
United States of America
Canada
Japan
Finland
Spain
Republic of Korea
Origin
Note: The average is defined as the number of PCT national phase entries initiated in 2011 divided by the number of PCT applications filed in 2010.
Source: WIPO Statistics Database, March 2013
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