R&D Output of APEC economies

Patent data is presented based on country of origin (the country of residence of the first-named applicant or assignee of a patent application) or patent office. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries by filing a single "international application? with a single patent office (i.e. receiving Office). The PCT system simplifies the process of multi-national patent filings by reducing the requirement to file multiple patent applications for multi-national patent rights. PCT international applications do not result in the issuance of international patents and the International Bureau (IB) does not grant patents. The decision on whether to confer patent rights remains in the hands of the national and/or regional patent offices, and patent rights are limited to the jurisdiction of the patent granting authority. PCT International Application is a patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. PCT National Phase Entry is a PCT international application which has entered the national/regional phase.

University patenting is increasing and many APEC governments have encouraged universities to patent their inventions.

In 2007, patent filings increased 3.7%, compared to a 5.2% increase in the previous year. Despite this slowdown, around 1.85 million applications were filed across the world in 2007 and APEC region accounts for 1.52 million (82%). The total number of PCT filings by APEC region in 2008 is estimated at 103,241, representing 63% of world total. Applicants from the US accounted for 32.7% of all PCT filings.

In 2007, about 59.2% of world patent filings were filed in these three countries China, Japan and US. The patent offices of Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US granted around 58.3% of total patents worldwide and the residents of these three countries received 63.4% of the world total. Residents of Japan and the United States own approximately 47% of the 6.3 million patents in force across the world.

Patents are also frequently used for protecting intellectual property rights outside domestic markets. In 2007, non-resident applicants received 43.9% of world patent grants and the share of non-residents in total patent granted was more than 95% in Malaysia, Mexico and Hong Kong. Key patent statistics are presented in table C below.
Table C Patent Data
EconomyPCT International Phase filings in 2008PCT National Phase entries in 2007No. of Patents in force in 2007No. of Patents filing by patent office in 2007
Australia 2,0286,420106,75626,840
Brunei Darussalam  17  
Canada 2,9666,493122,06340,131
Chile 2338 3,215
China 6,0893,387271,917245,161
Hong Kong 192 13,766
Indonesia 1014 4,606
Japan 28,74467,1091,206,335396,291
Korea 7,9089,205566,965172,469
Malaysia 17473 2,372
Mexico 20728166,86516,599
New Zealand 3091,02434,0047,844
Papua New Guinea  1  
Peru 1 2,1671,359
Philippines 1413 3,265
Russian Federation 655636129,91039,439
Singapore 5681,351 9,951
Chinese Taipei    81,834
Thailand 1720 1,388
United States 53,521126,9881,815,531456,154
Viet Nam 63  
Total for APEC103,241223,1654,322,5131,522,684
Source: World Intellectual Property Indicators, 2009 Edition

Trademarks & Industrial Designs

In 2007, around 3.3 million trademark applications were filed across the world, APEC accounting for 1.8 million (55% of world total). In many APEC economies, the trademark system is used more extensively than the patent system. In 2007, 20.6% and 9.2% of total trademark applications worldwide were filed at the IP offices of China and US. In 2007, around 16.4 million trademarks were in force across the world, nearly a fifth of which were in Japan and US. The Madrid System, a system that makes it possible to apply for the registration of a trademark in a large number of countries via a single application, shows an increasing level of activity.

The growth rates of industrial design applications outpaced the growth rates of other forms of IP rights. The total number of applications for industrial designs is estimated at around 621,000 worldwide and APEC accounting for 419,698 (68%). The IP office of China accounted for 43.1% of total industrial design applications in 2007. In 2007, the total number of industrial design registrations is estimated at around 512,000, 26.2% of which were registered at the IP office of China. Key statistics on trademarks and industrial designs is given in the table D below.

Table D Trade marks & Industrial designs data for 2007
EconomyTrade marks Application by OfficeTrademarks in force by officeIndustrial designs Application by OfficeIndustrial designs in force by office
Australia 61,040377,3205,79642,295
Brunei Darussalam     
Canada 47,758621,4225,06924,500
Chile 44,320   
China 681,358275,641267,432278,884
Hong Kong 23,529220,7365,568202,891
Indonesia 52,649 478 
Japan 143,2361,783,22636,544257,565
Korea 141,289627,20454,362190,675
Malaysia 25,894 1,920 
Mexico 83,216572,3092,88215,902
New Zealand 19,610196,8541,5458,880
Papua New Guinea 612   
Peru 21,645174,6492191,333
Philippines 14,733   
Russian Federation 57,346325,3524,82315,729
Singapore 23,564 1,78711,603
Chinese Taipei     
Thailand 33,55524,6403,5214,268
United States 304,1291,334,88027,752215,112
Viet Nam 26,140   
Total for APEC1,805,6236,534,233419,6981,269,637

Technology Balance of Payments (TBP)

Technology receipts and payments constitute the main form of technology diffusion. TBP payments capture technology acquisition, while TBP receipts capture technology exports. Technology imports are important for improving the efficiency of the production processes while exports are for the commercialization of their technological activities. TBP flows, (sum of receipts and payments) as % of GDP and ratio of receipts/payments can serve as an indicator for technology exchange. OCED publishes available TBP statistics for certain countries, which is presented in Table E below.

Table E Technology balance payments
EconomyYearReceipts in million PPP USDPayments in million PPP USDRatio of Receipts and Payments TBP flows as % of GDP
Australia 20073,629.15,069.20.721.04
Canada 20062,514.21,357.61.850.30
Japan 200721,080.16,033.83.490.61
Korea 20061,897.04,838.00.390.53
Mexico 2005180.42,093.50.090.15
Russian Federation 2006528.51,137.90.460.08
Chinese Taipei 2005412.11,776.10.230.31
United States 200785,919.048,957.01.750.95
Source: OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators database, May 2009