In 2021, innovative businesses and individuals around the world overcame the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, driving a record amount of WIPO's global IP services, including patents, trademarks and designs.
The number of international patent applications filed through WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an indicator of widespread use in innovative activities, with international patent filings increasing by 0.9% to 277,500 applications in 2021, the highest number ever recorded. Asia demonstrated its leading position as the largest source of international patent applications, accounting for 54.1% of total filings in 2021, up from 38.5% in 2011.
WIPO's Global Trademark (Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks) and Designs (Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs) – used to protect and promote the look and feel of brands and products such as mobile phones – both achieved double-digit growth and set new records, as did the volume of ANTI-domain cybersquatting and arbitration and mediation activities.
© WIPO Photo | DIRECTOR GENERAL OF WIPO, MR. DENG Hongsen.
"These figures show that despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, human ingenuity and entrepreneurship remain strong.
WIPO's global IP services help local businesses go global, making it easier and cheaper for them to promote their business overseas. While COVID-19-related restrictions separate people from each other and families from reuniting, they cannot stop the global flow of new ideas, innovative products and services. ”
During the global pandemic and even during the downturn in global economic growth in 2020, the volume of IP filing activity increased. Innovative activities and global operations are increasingly important to many businesses and are a long-term commitment.
The number of trademark applications under the Madrid System, which reflects the creation of new businesses and brands, declined at the peak of the 2020 pandemic but rebounded in 2021, with strong growth in applications originating in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The strong use of international trademarks during 2021 shows how businesses can seize the opportunity to launch new goods and services as consumer demand shifts during the pandemic and as economic digitization accelerates.
International Patent System (PATENT COOPERATION TREATY– PCT)
Leading PCT applicants
In 2021, China (69,540 applications, an increase of 0.9% year-on-year) remained the largest user of the PCT. It was followed by the United States (59,570 applications, +1.9 per cent), Japan (50,260 applications, -0.6 per cent), the Republic of Korea (20,678 applications, +3.2 per cent) and Germany (17,322 applications, -6.4 per cent).
In addition to the top ten users, Singapore (1,617 applications, +23%), Finland (1,907 applications, +13.8%) and Turkey (1,829 applications, +13.2%) all saw strong growth in PCT filings in 2021. Asia accounted for the bulk of all PCT filing activity in 2021, part of a larger trajectory over the past two decades of Asia's rise as an engine of innovative activity.
© WIPO Photo | top 10 countries of applicants for the International Patent System in 2021.
Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. became the largest applicant in 2021 with 6,952 published PCT applications. It was followed by Qualcomm Corporation of the United States (3,931 units), Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea (3,041 pieces), LG Electronics Corporation of the Republic of Korea (2,885 pieces) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Japan (2,673 pieces).
Among the top ten applicants, Qualcomm reported the fastest increase in the number of published applications in 2021 (+80.9%), making it jump from fifth place in 2020 to second place in 2021. Qualcomm nearly doubled its number of digital communication-related applications — from 1,486 in 2020 to 2,951 in 2021 — helping to drive strong overall growth.
In 2021, the University of California continued to rank first among educational institutions with 551 published applications. Zhejiang University (306) ranked second, followed by MIT (227), Tsinghua University (201) and Stanford (194). Of the top 10 universities on the list, China and the United States each account for four, and Japan and Singapore each account for one. For the first time, the National University of Singapore ranked in the top ten.
Leading technology areas
In terms of technology areas, computer technology (9.9 per cent of the total) accounted for the largest share of published PCT applications, followed by digital communications (9 per cent), medical technology (7.1 per cent), electrical machinery (6.9 per cent) and measurement (4.6 per cent).
In 2021, six of the top ten technology sectors saw growth, with pharmaceuticals (+12.8%) reporting the fastest growth, followed by biotechnology (+9.5%), computer technology (7.2%) and digital communications (+6.9%). Growth in these areas is a testament to the dynamism of health-related technologies as the pandemic spreads, and the continuing opportunity for digital technological advancements.
© WIPO Photo | International Applications by Field of Technology (PCT System).
International Trademark System (Madrid System)
In 2021, the number of applications using WIPO's International Trademark System to protect brands surged by 14.4% to 73,100, the fastest year-on-year growth since 2005.
In 2021, applicants from the United States (13,276) filed the highest number of international trademark applications using WIPO's Madrid System, followed by applicants from Germany (8,799), China (5,272), France (4,888) and the United Kingdom (4,215).
In 2021, seven of the top ten territories of origin saw double-digit growth, with the United States (+32.5%), France (+30.7%) and Germany (+18%) reporting the fastest growth rates. In addition to the top 10 origins, Canada (+49.4%), Norway (+49.8%), Finland (+43.2%) and Sweden (+42.5%) saw strong filing growth in 2021.
© WIPO Photo | the top ten countries of Madrid System trademark applicants in 2021.
Leading Madrid applicants
In 2021, L'Oréal of France surpassed The Novartis Group of Switzerland with 171 Madrid applications, becoming the largest applicant for international trademark applications. Germany's ADP Goldsmann AG (120 applications) took the second place, followed by Glaxo Group in the United Kingdom (110), Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. in China (98) and Novartis Group in Switzerland (94 applications). The number of L'Oréal applications received by WIPO in 2021 increased by 55 compared to 2020, taking the company from fifth place to the top.
Leading categories
Among the international applications received by WIPO, the most designated categories covered, among other things, computer hardware and software and other electrical or electronic devices, accounting for 10.7% of the total in 2021. This was followed by categories covering commercial services (8.4 per cent) and technical services (7.7 per cent). Among the top ten categories, technical services (+30.9%) and business services (+25.1%) grew the fastest.
International Design System (Hague System)
The demand for the protection of industrial designs through the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs rebounded after a sharp decline in the previous year.
In 2021, the number of designs contained in international applications increased by 20.8 per cent to 22,480, the fastest year since 2010.
Of the top five sources, France (+69.4%) and Italy (+66.6%) saw the fastest growth in 2021, lifting Italy from fifth in 2020 to third in 2021, while France rose from eighth to fifth in the same period.
© WIPO Photo | the top ten countries of design applicants under the Hague System 2021.
Leading Hague applicants
Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea topped the list of applicants for the fifth consecutive year with 862 designs published in the applications, followed by Philips Electronics in the Netherlands (678), Procter & Gamble in the United States (665), LG Electronics in the Republic of Korea (655) and Volkswagen in Germany (403).
Among the top ten applicants, Philips Electronics (215 designs added), LG Electronics (+177) and French PSA Peugeot Citroen (+116) included a significant increase in the number of designs in their applications in 2021 compared to 2020. Lucum GmbH of Germany – ranked ninth with 216 designs – is a new user of the Hague System.
Leading field
In 2021, designs related to means of transport (9.7%) accounted for the largest share of all designs, followed by recording and communication equipment (9.6%), packaging and containers (8.2%), furniture (6.9%) and lighting equipment (6.5%). In the top ten categories, clothing (+76%) saw considerable growth in 2021.
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
In 2021, trademark owners filed a record 5,128 cases with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), 22 percent higher than the number of cases filed in 2020. This surge brought WIPO's cybersquatting cases to nearly 56,000, involving a total of more than 100,000 domain names.
© WIPO Photo | the total number of DOMAIN name cases and the total number of domain names in WIPO over the years.
This year was also a record year for wipo in the number of mediation and arbitration cases involving copyright, patents, trademarks and other types of technology disputes. A 44.5% increase during this period, including 163 mediation, arbitration and expedited arbitration cases and 100 good offices requests, highlighted the strong need for out-of-court resolution of IP disputes.
domain name
The increase in cybersquatting cases filed with the WIPO Center has accelerated, mainly due to the strengthening of trademark owners' online presence to provide authentic content and trustworthy sales sites, and the increasing number of people spending more time online, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. COM cases accounted for 70 per cent of WIPO's generic top-level domain (gTLD) cases, demonstrating its continued primacy.
© WIPO Photo | WIPO Mediation, Arbitration and Expert Determination Cases and Good Offices Requests.
The 2021 WIPO UDRP case involved parties from 132 countries. The top three business areas are banking and finance (13%), internet and information technology (13%), and biotechnology and pharmaceuticals (11%). The United States (1,760 cases filed), France (938), the United Kingdom (450), Switzerland (326) and Germany (251) were the five countries with the highest caseload.
The WIPO Center continued to be heavily involved in the work of country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), such as .CN (China) and .EU (EU). With the increase. BH and البحرين. (Bahrain) and .SA and السعودية. (Saudi Arabia), and the addition of .SN (Senegal) from January 1, 2022, the WIPO Center now provides dispute resolution services for more than 80 CCDs.
© WIPO Photo | Areas of Activity for WIPO Domain Name Complainants (2021).
Intellectual Property Mediation and Arbitration
WIPO's IP mediation and arbitration cases in 2021 involved multinational corporations (46%), SMEs (including start-ups), creators and innovators (41%), and collective management organizations (12%), with parties mainly from Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.
Disputes involved a wide range of IP-related areas, with copyright (41%), patents (37%) and trademarks (16%) being the most common. The main practice areas are digital copyright, ICT, life sciences and machinery patents. In particular, there has been an increase in requests for mediation involving FRAND disputes, copyright disputes (in particular through joint management cooperation with mexico's National Copyright Office) and international IP disputes referred by Chinese courts.
Nearly 70 per cent of the cases handled by WIPO include parties from different jurisdictions, and cases are administered in multiple languages, including Chinese, English, French, Korean and Spanish. The settlement rate in WIPO mediation reached 75% in 2021. Many parties have used WIPO's online case management tools, which are essential in situations of travel restrictions and social distancing.
China has acceded to two important WIPO treaties
China's accession to WIPO's Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs marked a major development in the International Design System. At the same time, China had also acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty, integrating one of the world's great cultural and literary traditions into the Marrakesh Community.
WIPO Director General Deng Hongsen accepted the instrument submitted by Vice Minister Zhang Jianchun, Head of the National Copyright Administration of China, for China's accession to the Marrakesh Treaty and for China's accession to the Hague System by Shen Changyu, Director General of the State Intellectual Property Office of China.
China's accession comes on the occasion of Mr. Deng Hongsen's travel to China to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Also present at the opening ceremony were UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the President of the UN General Assembly and other heads of international organizations.
© WIPO Photo | On February 5, 2022, the Chinese government deposited its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement (1999).
Chinese residents filed a total of 795,504 designs in 2020, accounting for about 55% of the world's total. China's accession to the Hague System will make it easier and cheaper for these designers to protect and promote their work overseas.
China is the most populous country in the world and one of the birthplaces of the world's great literary and cultural traditions. Accession to the Marrakesh Treaty means that more than 17 million blind and visually impaired people in China will now have more access to copyrighted works. It will also increase the cross-border flow of accessible Chinese works, making them accessible to blind and visually impaired people in other parts of the world.
Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization
Deng Hongsen
China's accession to both treaties is a major development in the global IP ecosystem.
From the earliest ornaments made by our Stone Age ancestors to the haute couture we see on catwalks around the globe today, designers have made us colorful, energetic and vibrant. Designers are also playing a bigger role in shaping the look and feel of our everyday products– from housewares to mobile phones to virtual designs. China's accession to the Hague System means that it will be easier for the Chinese design community to protect his/her designs and extend them beyond China. Overseas designers will also find it easier to take his/her designs into one of the world's largest and most dynamic markets.
China has one of the oldest, richest and continuous literary and cultural traditions in the world. As China accedes to the Marrakesh Treaty, people who are blind or otherwise visually impaired will have more access to this rich and continuous tradition. China's blind and visually impaired population, estimated at more than 17 million people, will more easily benefit from accessible versions of foreign works. WIPO's Accessible Books Alliance (ABC) works with NGOs to convert books to formats that are accessible to visually impaired persons. The alliance will work with stakeholders to add a significant Chinese to its current offering of 730,000 titles in 80 languages.
© WIPO Photo | intellectual property system includes patents, designs, trademarks and copyrights.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a major global forum for the promotion of IP policies, services, information and cooperation. As a specialized agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 193 Member States in developing a balanced international IP legal framework that meets the evolving needs of society. It provided operational services for access to ip rights in multiple countries and for dispute resolution, as well as capacity-building programs to help developing countries benefit from the use of IP. In addition, it offers free access to a unique knowledge base of IP information.
Source: United Nations