PDF, Patent Landscape Report on Atazanavir - WIPO

EARLIEST PRIORITY COUNTRYDetermining the priority country (country of first filing) is the easiest way to get an idea ofwhere inventions were made, and typically corresponds to a company location. Globalcompanies may file in multiple countries if they have R&D facilities in each place. Most ofthe inventions in this collection were filed first in the US, and 70% of them were also filed ina PCT office (or have a priority in a PCT Office). This is partly explained because thepharmaceutical industry in general favors PCT filing. By examining the application numberof a PCT filing, the country of origin of the application can be determined, and Figure 15also shows the country of origin (receiving office) for the PCT applications.Observations include: a) relatively low participation in this technical field by Japanesecompanies, whether measured through in-country priority filings or PCT filings, and b)noticeable but not large participation by India. The numbers of families that have grants inone or more authorities are also shown, and is 29% for the US and 35% for the EPO. Thegrant of a patent implies novelty, but the grant rate statistic is affected by the age of theinvention, since young applications are not expected to grant in a time shorter than thenormal pendency period.Figure 15. Priority Country Information22