Who gains from the relentless rise in IP applications?
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Who gains from the relentless rise in IP applications?

WIPO has just revealed its annual report on IP indicators, filled with superlatives about fastest rates of growth and record numbers of filings. After a short-term drop following the lowest point of the global financial crisis, it seems as though the steady uptick in global IP applications continues

But should we celebrate or be concerned about the statistics?

Take China. WIPO says that last year, for the first time, residents of China accounted for the largest number of patents filed throughout the world. The country’s IP office, SIPO, received more applications than any other IP office.

It’s not just in the patent field where China dominates. Last year, residents of China filed trade mark applications with more than 1.5 million class counts – more than three times as many as the next biggest class filer, the US.

So how should we interpret the statistics? One interpretation is that they signal a real change in levels of Chinese innovation and brand creation. Another is that they represent a flood of applications for utility model patents and bad faith trade mark filings. (Chinese companies are far more likely that foreign ones to apply for lower-value utility models rather than invention patents in China – a phenomenon that the government is seeking to change. High levels of trade mark squatting have exasperated foreign companies entering the Chinese market).

The answer, of course, is probably a bit of both.

The majority of practitioners and IP professionals understand that global patent filing growth rates of 9%-plus and a 6% rise on trade mark class counts may not be unqualified good news: the pressure on IP offices, leading to patent thickets and overcrowded registers and the high cost of challenging duff patents and other IP rights? are just a few of the potential problems.

But while there might be agreement that the relentless rise in IP applications is not necessarily a Good Thing at the aggregate level, is there an agreement about what should be done about it?

One option, or course, is to do nothing. Another is for IP lawmakers and examiners to make it tougher to obtain IP rights. Yet another is for IP attorneys to discourage their clients from adding to the pile of weak applications. After all, isn’t improving the system better for all IP owners and users in the long run? While the season may be apt for metaphors about turkeys and Christmas, isn’t that something the profession should consider? Do you – or should you – tell clients not to apply for IP rights? Do let us know.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Ireland joining the UPC would offer plenty of opportunities to local attorneys but there are fears that upcoming referendum could get ‘lost in the noise’
Attorneys at four firms reveal the business opportunities that stem from patent licensing agreements in the life sciences sector
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Counsel at four firms explain their lateral hiring policies and how they retain existing lawyers
Lori Gordon, who has joined from Perkins Coie, says she hopes to turn Goodwin into a 'premier' destination for PTAB work
The LMG Life Sciences Awards is thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2024 EMEA Awards.
Partners at LeanWill Law Firm, a newly launched domestic firm in China, discuss IP opportunities and which clients they plan to target
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP lawyer about their life and career
A survey of more than 25,000 in-house lawyers reveals that embracing technology could help law firms win new business
John Mulgrew, vice president of IP at Lenovo, says the EU's proposed regulation will readdress imbalances in the bargaining power of SEP owners and implementers
Gift this article