Croatia Follows World Trend in Patent Applications Increase

In 2010, Croatia experienced an increase in international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The patent filings worldwide increased in 2010 in comparison with the previous year, as highlighted in a recent report by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The statistics show that a total of 162,900 international applications were submitted worldwide, whereas in 2009 this number was slightly lower – 155,398.

“Overall PCT filings recovered from the economic crises-induced drop in 2009, almost reaching their 2008 level”, stated WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

According to the report, 51 international patent applications were filed in Croatia in 2010, 13 more than in 2009. Croatia is followed by Slovakia (45 applications), Bulgaria (27 applications), Serbia (19 applications), Bosnia and Herzegovina (14 applications) and Romania (9 applications). Croatia is behind some countries in the Eastern Europe region, namely Slovenia (121 applications), Hungary (166 applications), Poland (180 applications) and the Czech Republic (135 applications).

The report shows that the largest number of international patent applications was submitted in the USA (44,855), followed by Japan (32,156), Germany (17,171) and China (12,337).

For more information, please contact Dalibor Radovic at our Croatia office.

Source: Croatia business news portal Poslovni.hr; WIPO