Korea climbs to fourth in international patents

Korea ranked fourth in the world last year in the number of filings for international patents.
The World Intellectual Property Office announced yesterday that out of all international PTC applications, Korea had 5,935 filings last year, up 27 percent from 2005, when it ranked sixth.
PCT stands for Patent Cooperation Treaty. It offers inventors and industry an advantageous route for obtaining patent protection internationally.
Francis Gurry, deputy director general of the office, said Korea is leading the new Asian wave in international patent filings. He also noted that international PTC applications rose 6.4 percent to 145,300 in 2006.
Korea first entered the top 10 in 2002, and has moved up the rankings each of last four years. The total number of filings has more than doubled from 2002, when there were just over 2,300 filings.
The United States retained the top spot with 49,555, up 6 percent from 2005. Japan was second at just under 27,000 and Germany was next at about 17,000.
Korea edged out France and the United Kingdom, which were ranked fourth and fifth in 2005. France had 5,902 filings, and the United Kingdom had 5,045 to drop to fifth and sixth. China moved up two spots to eighth with 3,910 filings.

By Yoo Jee-ho Staff Writer [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]