Annual World Intellectual Property Indicators Report

The WIPI reveals that the number of patent applications filed in 2020 modestly increased by 1.6 % worldwide, whilst the number of trade mark applications increased markedly by 13.7%. The WIPO director general Daren Tang stated that the WIPI “confirms that intellectual property filings – patents, trademarks, designs and others – have proven highly resilient, despite the deepest economic shock of modern times”.

The report also illustrates Chinese applicants’ increasing use of the international patent system. The number of international (Patent Cooperation Treaty - PCT) applications originating from China increased by a further 16.1% between 2019 and 2020. Applicants based in Asia now account for over half of the PCT applications filed per year.

Another notable trend is that Brazil granted 86.4% more patents in 2020 than in 2019, and reduced its stock of pending patent applications by 20.8%. This should signal a reduction in procedural delays for pending applications in Brazil.