Trademark Filing Rebounds

17 October 2012

International trademark activity recovered in 2010 with the World Intellectual Property Organization receiving 39,687 applications under the 85-member Madrid system, representing a 12.8% rate of growth. The largest growth was registered from Korea (+42.2%), China (+42%), Italy (+38.7%), the United States (+29.6%), the European Union (+26.9%) and Japan (+20.2%).

Similarly, international trademark registrations were up 4.5% on 2009 with a total 37,533 international registrations in 2010. WIPO recorded 21,949 international trademark renewals in 2010, representing an increase of 14.1%, reflecting the value of established brands at a time when consumers opt for goods that are tried and trusted.

“International trademark activity has rebounded and has nearly recovered the ground lost in 2009,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

The EU accounted for over half of the international applications received – some 22,403 - in 2010. This includes international applications filed through national trademark offices of the countries concerned and those filed through the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM). Some 4,707 international applications were filed through OHIM in 2010 representing a 26.9% increase on figures for 2009.

Among major users, applicants in Germany ranked first, filing 5,006 international applications, representing 12.6% of the total. OHIM ranked second with 4,707 international applications reflecting a 26.9% increase on 2009 figures. Applicants based in the USA accounted for 4,147 international applications, representing 10.4% of the total. The US moved up one place to become the third largest filer. France ranked 4th (from 3rd) with 3,565 applications or 9.0% of the total. Switzerland held its 5th ranking with 2,893 international applications, and an increase of 8.3 %, followed by Italy, China and the Benelux countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). Significant movement in rankings was seen for the Korea (from 23rd to 17th) and Ukraine (from 29th to 21st).

Madrid Union members were notified of 299,476 new designations (contained in new registrations or territorial extensions) in 2010, representing a 1.3% decrease compared to 2009. The likely reason for such a decrease is that many applicants prefer making a single designation of the European Union as a whole instead of designating individual Member States of the European Union.

When submitting an international trademark application, applicants must designate those member states in which they want their mark to be protected. Applicants can also extend the effects of an international registration to other members at a later date by filing a subsequent designation. In this way, the holder of an international registration can expand the geographical scope of the protection of a mark in line with evolving business needs.

The top six in the ranking of most designated member states changed in 2010. China (with 16,143 designations) continues to be the most designated country, but the European Union moved up three places to become 2nd, followed by the US, Russia (from 2nd to 4th), Switzerland and Japan.

A number of countries moved up the list of 40 most designated contracting parties. For example, Korea moved from 10th to 8th position, Kazakhstan from 29th to 26th position and Iran from 37th to 33th position.

With 137 international trademark applications, Philip Morris was the largest filer in 2010 followed by Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, China’s Da Lian Ya Tu Tou Zi Zi Xun You Xian Gong Si, Italy’s Ministero Delle Politiche Agricole and Zhejiang Chengpeng Industry of China.

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