Egypt and South Africa in top 10 in latest PCT stats

According to a WIPO press release, in a year that saw a record number of filings under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), inventors from the Republic of Korea (4th place) and China (7th) consolidated their top ten position in 2007, along with the United States of America (1st) , Japan (2nd) and Germany (3rd). Amongst developing countries, which constitute 78% of the PCT membership, South Africa ranked 4th and Egypt 8th. The largest number of applications received came from the Republic of Korea (7,061) and China (5,456) followed by India (686), South Africa (390), Brazil (384), Mexico (173), Malaysia (103), Egypt (41), Saudi Arabia (35) and Colombia (31).

The PCT offers inventors and industry an advantageous route for obtaining patent protection internationally. By filing one “international” patent application under the PCT, protection of an invention can be sought simultaneously in each of a large number of countries. The largest proportion of PCT applications published in 2007 related to the telecommunications (10.5%), information technology (10.1%) and pharmaceuticals (9.3%) sectors. The fastest growing technology areas are nuclear engineering (24.5% increase) and telecommunications (15.5%).