TARGETS OF THE APPLICATIONS

Fig. 3.7 shows the proportions of applications filed at home by the residents of each bloc. This graph is related to numbers of application forms filled out as described in Fig. 3.1.

In most cases, the first filing is made in the country of residence and subsequent applications are made to protect the invention abroad. The proportions of applications made at home have decreased. This is yet another indication of the globalization of the demand for patent rights

Grants

The development of the use of patent systems is shown next in terms of grants. Fig. 3.9 displays the cumulative numbers of patents granted by the various offices in each bloc. Granted patents are counted here.

The worldwide number of grants decreased from the 2004 total of 586,962 to 579,900 in 2005. The number of patents granted in the EPC contracting states in 2005 decreased by 16 percent since 2004. The number of patents granted in Japan has remained fairly constant since 2001 though there was a slight decrease in 2005. The U.S. and EPC contracting states have granted 12 and 16 percent, respectively, fewer patents in 2005 than in 2004.The numbers of patents granted in the “Others” bloc has increased significantly over the period. 2005 patents granted from China made up about 25 percent of “Others” and about 9 percent of the total. Also in 2005 patents granted from Republic of Korea made up about 34 percent of “Others” and about 13 percent of the total. The number of patents granted in the “Others” bloc rose 19 percent in 2005 over their 2004 total.

APPLICATIONS BY FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

Patents are classified by the Trilateral Offices according to the IPC. Fig 4.3 shows the distribution of applications according to the main sections of the IPC. The classification takes place at a different stage of the procedure in each Office. Fig. 4.3 shows data for the EPO and the USPTO for the filing years 2005 and 2006, while for the JPO the breakdown is given for the filing years 2004 and 2005. The JPO data for 2005 are the most recent available figures because the IPC assignment is completed just before the publication of the Unexamined Patent Application Gazette (after the expiration of 18 months from the first filing). USPTO applications are classified according to U.S. Patent Classification system. The breakdown according to the IPC has been determined by means of a general concordance between both classifications. Therefore the technical scope of the USPTO with respect to the IPC may differ from the scope presented by the EPO and the JPO.Fig. 4.3 indicates the share of applications by technological field at each Trilateral Office. The shares are determined for all applications for which a classification is available. On a year-to-year basis, there is little change in the share that these fields occupied at the Trilateral Office.

The patent classification does not itself define high technology fields. The Trilateral Offices, however, previously agreed.