World Intellectual Property Indicators
World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) is an annual statistical report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).<ref name=":0">"World Intellectual Property Indicators". www.wipo.int.</ref> The publication provides an overview of the activity in the areas of patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, microorganisms, plant variety protection, geographical indications and the creative economy.
The WIPI draws on intellectual property (IP) statistics collected from the 193 member States of WIPO. It provides the latest trends for IP activity at world, geographical region, country and IP office levels. WIPO has published the report annually since 2009.<ref name="DataCenter">"WIPO IP Statistics Data Center". www3.wipo.int. Retrieved 2021-08-27.</ref>
Data sources
The IP statistics data presented in the WIPI are taken from the WIPO Statistics Database and based primarily on data collected from national and regional IP offices, other competent authorities and publishers’ associations from around the world, through annual surveys consisting of multiple questionnaires. Data are also compiled by WIPO in processing international applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Madrid System for trademark protection and the Hague System for industrial design protection.<ref name="WIPO 2021">"World Intellectual Property Indicators 2021" (PDF). World Intellectual Property Organization. Retrieved 28 April 2022. 
Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.</ref>
Patent family and technology data are extracted from the WIPO Statistics Database and from the PATSTAT database of the European Patent Office (EPO).<ref>Office, European Patent. "PATSTAT. Worldwide Patent Statistical Database". www.epo.org. Retrieved 2022-04-27.</ref> Gross domestic product, income group classification and population data are from the World Development Indicators database of the World Bank. Geographical regions are those defined by the United Nations.<ref name="WIPO 2021"/>
Accessing the report and its data
The WIPI is available on WIPO website. Its underlying data can be extracted from the IP Statistics Data Center, which is WIPO’s online statistical database.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="DataCenter" /><ref>"Intellectual Property Statistics". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-04-27.</ref>
The IP Facts and Figures report, drawn from the WIPI, serves as a quick reference guide for the most frequently used measure of IP activity.<ref>"Publications: WIPO IP Facts and Figures". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-04-27.</ref> An online statistical country profiles also provides a set of IP statistics at country level.<ref>"Statistical Country Profiles". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-04-27.</ref>
More comprehensive data and analysis on the WIPO administrated Systems are available in a series of three publications: PCT Yearly Review, Madrid Yearly Review and Hague Yearly Review.<ref>"Publications: PCT Yearly Review". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-04-27.</ref><ref>"Publications: Madrid Yearly Review". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-04-27.</ref><ref>"Publications: Hague Yearly Review". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-04-27.</ref>
IP Statistics by IP office or by country of origin
Applications received by offices from resident and non-resident applicants are referred to as office data, whereas applications filed by applicants at their national or regional office (resident applications) or at a foreign office (applications filed abroad) are referred to as origin data.<ref name="WIPO 2021"/><ref name="Help">"About WIPO's IP Statistics". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2022-04-27. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.</ref> For statistical purposes, WIPO defines the origin of an IP application to be the country or territory of residence of the first named applicant in the application.<ref name="WIPO 2021"/><ref name="Help" />
Due to the nature of regional offices, the WIPI uses an equivalent application concept for reporting data by origin.<ref name="WIPO 2021"/><ref name="Help" /> Applications at regional offices are equivalent to multiple applications, one in each of the member states of those offices. For the EPO and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the equivalent application is counted as one application abroad, if the applicant does not reside in a member state, or as one resident application and one application abroad, if the applicant resides in a member state.<ref name="WIPO 2021"/>
Latest filing trends by country of origin
The patent, trademark and industrial design data presented in this table come from the WIPI and show the application filing activity trend by country of origin and by year of filing.
Trademark application data refer to class counts – that is, the number of classes specified in applications. This provides the best comparison of international trademark filing activity across origins, because some jurisdictions may allow multiple classes of goods and services to be specified in a single application, whereas others require a separate application for each class. For the same reason, industrial design data refer to design counts, that is, the number of designs contained in applications.<ref name="DataCenter" /><ref name="Help" />
| Code | Country / Region | Patent applications
in 2021 |
Patent applications
in 2022 |
Trademarks applications
in 2021 |
Trademarks applications
in 2022 |
Industrial design applications
in 2021 |
Industrial design applications
in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AD |  Andorra
|
27 | 19 | 7,588 | 8,885 | 0 | 0 |
| AE |  United Arab Emirates
|
655 | 843 | 45,891 | 60,177 | 1,265 | 1,326 |
| AG |  Antigua and Barbuda
|
408 | 153 | 1,940 | 1,555 | 2 | 0 |
| AL |  Albania
|
39 | 35 | 2,766 | 1,655 | 58 | 778 |
| AM |  Armenia
|
106 | 71 | 5,651 | 8,278 | 81 | 129 |
| AO |  Angola
|
0 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 |
| AR |  Argentina
|
717 | 763 | 82,468 | 83,214 | 1,624 | 1,583 |
| AT |  Austria
|
13,472 | 13,655 | 412,197 | 361,857 | 82,185 | 58,736 |
| AU |  Australia
|
12,825 | 11,707 | 251,488 | 224,153 | 18,061 | 15,867 |
| AZ |  Azerbaijan
|
338 | 531 | 6,165 | 8,602 | 81 | 96 |
| BA |  Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
64 | 73 | 1,879 | 2,035 | 671 | 172 |
| BB |  Barbados
|
767 | 0 | 17,060 | 2,646 | 0 | 0 |
| BD |  Bangladesh
|
91 | 90 | 11,010 | 9,439 | 1,393 | 1,225 |
| BE |  Belgium
|
13,966 | 14,290 | 281,983 | 250,062 | 35,115 | 34,668 |
| BF |  Burkina Faso
|
85 | 104 | 6,148 | 3,270 | 206 | 136 |
| BG |  Bulgaria
|
466 | 548 | 105,124 | 131,517 | 13,014 | 28,711 |
| BH |  Bahrain
|
17 | 30 | 1,326 | 1,945 | 15 | 35 |
| BJ |  Benin
|
171 | 71 | 3,596 | 2,677 | 85 | 51 |
| BN |  Brunei
|
5 | 1 | 737 | 227 | 0 | 0 |
| BO |  Bolivia
|
6 | 14 | 4,935 | 4,910 | 23 | 31 |
| BR |  Brazil
|
6,909 | 6,984 | 370,158 | 380,501 | 7,920 | 8,097 |
| BT |  Bhutan
|
0 | 1 | 157 | 93 | 3 | 0 |
| BW |  Botswana
|
4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 5 |
| BY |  Belarus
|
1,118 | 980 | 12,272 | 7,985 | 462 | 670 |
| BZ |  Belize
|
21 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 0 |
| CA |  Canada
|
26,525 | 25,562 | 235,899 | 202,119 | 17,985 | 15,352 |
| CF |  Central African Republic
|
17 | 0 | 70 | 97 | 0 | 17 |
| CG |  Republic of the Congo
|
71 | 52 | 707 | 421 | 17 | 0 |
| CH |  Switzerland
|
48,336 | 51,445 | 567,109 | 518,055 | 117,813 | 116,156 |
| CI |  Ivory Coast
|
697 | 562 | 19,631 | 14,692 | 1,360 | 3,074 |
| CL |  Chile
|
930 | 823 | 66,205 | 53,486 | 189 | 92 |
| CM |  Cameroon
|
1,074 | 803 | 13,245 | 11,159 | 631 | 426 |
| CN |  China
|
1,538,604 | 1,586,339 | 11,170,624 | 8,561,984 | 1,512,861 | 1,408,921 |
| CO |  Colombia
|
692 | 1,317 | 42,743 | 61,046 | 636 | 783 |
| CR |  Costa Rica
|
130 | 135 | 10,914 | 11,990 | 13 | 4 |
| CU |  Cuba
|
112 | 0 | 2,521 | 4,161 | 14 | 0 |
| CV |  Cape Verde
|
1 | 2 | 147 | 110 | 0 | 0 |
| CW |  Curaçao
|
0 | 0 | 2,403 | 4,315 | 0 | 0 |
| CY |  Cyprus
|
417 | 295 | 91,783 | 81,971 | 9,184 | 4,604 |
| CZ |  Czech Republic
|
1,922 | 1,887 | 199,534 | 173,176 | 24,605 | 25,309 |
| DE |  Germany
|
165,826 | 157,652 | 2,947,580 | 2,552,542 | 540,700 | 489,507 |
| DJ |  Djibouti
|
3 | 1 | 41 | 52 | 0 | 9 |
| DK |  Denmark
|
14,100 | 14,525 | 195,921 | 171,314 | 58,229 | 44,638 |
| DM |  Dominica
|
5 | 1 | 93 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| DO |  Dominican Republic
|
46 | 51 | 11,094 | 12,135 | 44 | 64 |
| DZ |  Algeria
|
281 | 483 | 11,857 | 12,252 | 900 | 855 |
| EC |  Ecuador
|
51 | 45 | 15,497 | 15,367 | 107 | 89 |
| EE |  Estonia
|
350 | 273 | 74,596 | 70,390 | 5,773 | 4,845 |
| EG |  Egypt
|
997 | 866 | 46,684 | 43,102 | 2,276 | 2,069 |
| ES |  Spain
|
10,880 | 10,518 | 794,344 | 789,031 | 101,588 | 118,365 |
| ET |  Ethiopia
|
0 | 39 | 1,443 | 1,924 | 0 | 60 |
| FI |  Finland
|
12,826 | 12,972 | 174,836 | 152,511 | 25,455 | 19,972 |
| FR |  France
|
66,137 | 66,446 | 1,251,047 | 1,194,182 | 227,890 | 217,619 |
| GA |  Gabon
|
359 | 103 | 1,228 | 1,299 | 204 | 85 |
| GB |  United Kingdom
|
53,650 | 54,620 | 1,198,871 | 1,093,675 | 135,245 | 131,371 |
| GD |  Grenada
|
1 | 0 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| GE |  Georgia
|
132 | 97 | 4,618 | 3,750 | 113 | 247 |
| GH |  Ghana
|
0 | 11 | 0 | 1,097 | 0 | 673 |
| GM |  Gambia
|
0 | 0 | 121 | 405 | 0 | 0 |
| GN |  Guinea
|
52 | 51 | 5,045 | 4,175 | 1,003 | 1,020 |
| GQ |  Equatorial Guinea
|
0 | 0 | 187 | 459 | 1 | 0 |
| GR |  Greece
|
1,387 | 1,238 | 0 | 0 | 11,758 | 11,803 |
| GT |  Guatemala
|
15 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 19 |
| GW |  Guinea-Bissau
|
0 | 0 | 426 | 391 | 51 | 85 |
| GY |  Guyana
|
40 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 1 | 0 |
| HK |  Hong Kong
|
3,261 | 2,459 | 139,559 | 112,271 | 27,295 | 25,074 |
| HN |  Honduras
|
2 | 2 | 2,950 | 3,062 | 0 | 1 |
| HR |  Croatia
|
304 | 290 | 30,779 | 36,255 | 5,867 | 5,281 |
| HU |  Hungary
|
1,466 | 1,145 | 69,947 | 63,856 | 5,132 | 6,274 |
| ID |  Indonesia
|
1,445 | 1,607 | 97,170 | 113,162 | 3,123 | 3,708 |
| IE |  Ireland
|
7,061 | 7,464 | 0 | 0 | 15,625 | 9,799 |
| IL |  Israel
|
17,341 | 17,327 | 44,060 | 48,990 | 10,163 | 10,107 |
| IN |  India
|
43,163 | 56,396 | 477,121 | 499,674 | 19,774 | 22,409 |
| IQ |  Iraq
|
0 | 0 | 2,756 | 1,193 | 0 | 0 |
| IR |  Iran
|
10,350 | 8,391 | 511,868 | 357,669 | 13,937 | 8,170 |
| IS |  Iceland
|
371 | 313 | 6,133 | 5,747 | 38 | 0 |
| IT |  Italy
|
34,206 | 32,021 | 1,238,081 | 1,178,542 | 350,437 | 369,347 |
| JM |  Jamaica
|
23 | 13 | 2,936 | 0 | 94 | 154 |
| JO |  Jordan
|
53 | 64 | 6,321 | 6,366 | 322 | 251 |
| JP |  Japan
|
412,885 | 406,374 | 555,273 | 549,015 | 94,374 | 91,683 |
| KE |  Kenya
|
199 | 396 | 0 | 5,475 | 126 | 99 |
| KG |  Kyrgyzstan
|
120 | 132 | 845 | 981 | 30 | 20 |
| KH |  Cambodia
|
0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| KM |  Comoros
|
0 | 0 | 138 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| KP |  North Korea
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 5,234 | 0 | 0 |
| KR |  South Korea
|
267,527 | 272,675 | 471,725 | 449,639 | 116,693 | 103,174 |
| KW |  Kuwait
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 7,801 | 114 | 17 |
| KZ |  Kazakhstan
|
0 | 1,297 | 17,109 | 18,309 | 283 | 231 |
| LA |  Laos
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| LI |  Liechtenstein
|
1,482 | 1,480 | 15,328 | 12,723 | 3,215 | 2,853 |
| LK |  Sri Lanka
|
329 | 260 | 7,725 | 6,980 | 227 | 361 |
| LT |  Lithuania
|
477 | 642 | 62,935 | 61,635 | 5,327 | 5,055 |
| LU |  Luxembourg
|
2,725 | 2,580 | 98,061 | 88,768 | 8,992 | 6,304 |
| LV |  Latvia
|
281 | 246 | 27,774 | 26,106 | 2,504 | 2,481 |
| MA |  Morocco
|
399 | 363 | 106,422 | 52,405 | 3,924 | 5,082 |
| MC |  Monaco
|
137 | 154 | 15,384 | 15,953 | 431 | 229 |
| MD |  Moldova
|
75 | 54 | 6,253 | 5,257 | 749 | 528 |
| ME |  Montenegro
|
0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MG |  Madagascar
|
6 | 9 | 3,275 | 3,441 | 328 | 338 |
| MK |  North Macedonia
|
73 | 53 | 4,585 | 8,860 | 172 | 265 |
| ML |  Mali
|
194 | 55 | 5,760 | 3,514 | 206 | 121 |
| MN |  Mongolia
|
113 | 138 | 19,487 | 10,415 | 1,391 | 1,088 |
| MO |  Macau
|
163 | 27 | 3,660 | 3,108 | 245 | 14 |
| MR |  Mauritania
|
36 | 85 | 2,466 | 982 | 0 | 34 |
| MT |  Malta
|
407 | 441 | 78,933 | 67,790 | 13,822 | 4,802 |
| MU |  Mauritius
|
165 | 401 | 8,607 | 5,798 | 63 | 115 |
| MX |  Mexico
|
1,994 | 1,815 | 165,547 | 162,780 | 1,756 | 1,439 |
| MY |  Malaysia
|
1,863 | 1,760 | 33,696 | 27,650 | 721 | 990 |
| MZ |  Mozambique
|
30 | 25 | 1,606 | 788 | 35 | 52 |
| NA |  Namibia
|
0 | 39 | 0 | 488 | 0 | 38 |
| NE |  Niger
|
68 | 87 | 815 | 809 | 0 | 0 |
| NL |  Netherlands
|
32,779 | 32,738 | 609,122 | 582,247 | 97,770 | 91,971 |
| NO |  Norway
|
5,841 | 5,974 | 94,151 | 78,970 | 8,504 | 6,936 |
| NZ |  New Zealand
|
2,682 | 2,588 | 55,614 | 48,773 | 5,992 | 6,666 |
| OM |  Oman
|
100 | 88 | 6,819 | 8,074 | 17 | 108 |
| PA |  Panama
|
70 | 0 | 12,385 | 0 | 197 | 0 |
| PE |  Peru
|
160 | 234 | 32,316 | 31,278 | 98 | 117 |
| PG |  Papua New Guinea
|
4 | 4 | 329 | 112 | 0 | 0 |
| PH |  Philippines
|
695 | 674 | 37,610 | 38,417 | 720 | 685 |
| PK |  Pakistan
|
491 | 416 | 44,595 | 39,967 | 485 | 467 |
| PL |  Poland
|
5,916 | 6,073 | 500,481 | 477,735 | 158,341 | 155,846 |
| PT |  Portugal
|
1,986 | 2,035 | 168,643 | 146,295 | 24,697 | 23,863 |
| PY |  Paraguay
|
14 | 11 | 17,189 | 14,791 | 9 | 1 |
| QA |  Qatar
|
121 | 0 | 10,722 | 8,241 | 0 | 0 |
| RO |  Romania
|
1,114 | 1,140 | 130,737 | 162,185 | 9,686 | 14,391 |
| RS |  Serbia
|
271 | 230 | 16,773 | 14,102 | 933 | 685 |
| RU |  Russia
|
25,904 | 25,188 | 417,882 | 447,229 | 11,773 | 10,849 |
| RW |  Rwanda
|
16 | 9 | 721 | 777 | 10 | 5 |
| SA |  Saudi Arabia
|
4,868 | 5,019 | 32,263 | 39,991 | 1,096 | 968 |
| SC |  Seychelles
|
51 | 46 | 5,540 | 4,641 | 27 | 0 |
| SE |  Sweden
|
27,802 | 28,184 | 400,733 | 352,825 | 48,800 | 48,682 |
| SG |  Singapore
|
9,766 | 8,599 | 105,298 | 109,348 | 15,301 | 6,519 |
| SI |  Slovenia
|
744 | 811 | 48,379 | 53,579 | 4,451 | 7,638 |
| SK |  Slovakia
|
414 | 557 | 62,093 | 53,820 | 6,498 | 3,808 |
| SL |  Sierra Leone
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 237 | 4 | 0 |
| SM |  San Marino
|
58 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 486 | 605 |
| SN |  Senegal
|
606 | 583 | 12,560 | 9,702 | 425 | 493 |
| SO |  Somalia
|
0 | 0 | 15 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| SR |  Suriname
|
0 | 0 | 529 | 116 | 0 | 0 |
| ST |  São Tomé and Príncipe
|
0 | 0 | 4 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| SV |  El Salvador
|
2 | 4 | 5,611 | 5,441 | 16 | 20 |
| SY |  Syria
|
106 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 485 | 451 |
| TD |  Chad
|
51 | 119 | 163 | 129 | 119 | 51 |
| TG |  Togo
|
81 | 85 | 6,982 | 3,390 | 85 | 34 |
| TH |  Thailand
|
1,548 | 1,416 | 43,547 | 39,009 | 4,764 | 4,149 |
| TJ |  Tajikistan
|
97 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TN |  Tunisia
|
0 | 225 | 0 | 5,760 | 0 | 547 |
| TO |  Tonga
|
0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| TR |  Turkey
|
10,869 | 11,114 | 503,741 | 579,543 | 78,829 | 94,792 |
| TT |  Trinidad and Tobago
|
15 | 7 | 956 | 1,443 | 60 | 12 |
| UA |  Ukraine
|
1,706 | 1,080 | 64,201 | 46,691 | 6,149 | 3,000 |
| UG |  Uganda
|
20 | 16 | 2,233 | 2,186 | 91 | 56 |
| US |  United States
|
509,962 | 515,281 | 2,169,465 | 2,009,487 | 392,258 | 366,686 |
| UY |  Uruguay
|
0 | 0 | 9,057 | 8,386 | 0 | 0 |
| UZ |  Uzbekistan
|
428 | 475 | 10,955 | 13,879 | 240 | 236 |
| VC |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
0 | 2 | 386 | 601 | 0 | 0 |
| VE |  Venezuela
|
0 | 29 | 0 | 8,329 | 0 | 19 |
| VN |  Vietnam
|
1,205 | 1,057 | 86,109 | 92,118 | 2,561 | 2,755 |
| VU |  Vanuatu
|
0 | 0 | 196 | 362 | 4 | 6 |
| WS |  Samoa
|
17 | 0 | 865 | 880 | 0 | 9 |
| YE |  Yemen
|
22 | 13 | 5,709 | 3,702 | 80 | 56 |
| ZA |  South Africa
|
2,751 | 2,619 | 36,851 | 32,164 | 1,614 | 1,714 |
| ZM |  Zambia
|
15 | 14 | 1,284 | 1,264 | 46 | 81 |
| ZW |  Zimbabwe
|
0 | 41 | 0 | 1,341 | 19 | 38 |
Patents, trademarks, and industrial design (PCT) applications by Organizations
Top PCT patent applicants 2019 and 2020
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. A patent application filed under the PCT is called an international application, or PCT application.
| Appplicants | Country | 2020 Rank | 2020 PCT applications | 2019 Rank | 2019 PCT applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huawei | China
|
1 | 5464 | 1 | 4411 |
| Samsung Electronics | South Korea
|
2 | 3093 | 3 | 2334 |
| Mitsubishi Electric | Japan
|
3 | 2810 | 2 | 2661 |
| LG Electronics | South Korea
|
4 | 2759 | 10 | 1646 |
| Qualcomm |  U.S.
|
5 | 2173 | 4 | 2127 |
| Ericsson | Sweden
|
6 | 1989 | 7 | 1698 |
| BOE Technology | China
|
7 | 1892 | 6 | 1864 |
| Oppo | China
|
8 | 1801 | 5 | 1927 |
| Sony | Japan
|
9 | 1793 | 13 | 1566 |
| Panasonic | Japan
|
10 | 1611 | 12 | 1567 |
Top Madrid trademark applicants (2020 and 2019)
The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is a protocol to protect trademarks worldwide, in over 120 countries.<ref>"Madrid System". International Trademark Association. Retrieved 2021-09-15.</ref><ref>"WIPO | Madrid – The International Trademark System". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2021-09-15.</ref> The Madrid System has a centralized trademark registration system through a single application, in one language and with one set of fees (in one currency, the Swiss franc), protection can be obtained in member states and intergovernmental organizations.<ref>"International trademarks: Is the Madrid System right for you? | Novagraaf". www.novagraaf.com. Retrieved 2021-09-15.</ref><ref>Australia, I. P. (2016-03-18). "Getting an international trade mark". www.ipaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 2021-09-15.</ref> International registrations can then be modified, renewed or expanded, centrally through WIPO (rather than through each separate IP Office).<ref>The Madrid Protocol (PDF). ARISE+ ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights.</ref> The Madrid System can only be used by a natural person or a legal entity, which is a national, is domiciled or has a company in the territory of a member of the Madrid System.
| Applicant | Rank 2020 | Madrid applications in 2020 | Rank 2019 | Madrid applications in 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novartis | 1 | 233 | 3 | 129 |
| Huawei | 2 | 197 | 2 | 164 |
| Shiseido | 3 | 130 | 9 | 70 |
| Adp Gauselmann | 4 | 123 | 19 | 39 |
| L'Oreal | 5 | 115 | 1 | 193 |
| Nintendo | 6 | 90 | 26 | 32 |
| Euro Games Technology | 7 | 84 | 14 | 48 |
| Apple | 8 | 80 | 4 | 104 |
| Syngenta | 9 | 78 | 27 | 30 |
| RIGO Trading SA | 10 | 70 | 5 | 102 |
Hague top applicants in 2020 and 2019
The Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs<ref name="wipo.int">"Hague – The International Design System". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2021-12-30.</ref> provides an international mechanism that secures protection of up to 100 designs<ref name="wipo.int"/><ref>Hartwig, Henning (2021-05-18). Research Handbook on Design Law. Edward Elgar. ISBN 978-1-78195-588-8.</ref> in multiple countries or regions, through a single international application. International design applications are filed directly through WIPO.<ref name=":5">"WIPO Lex". wipolex.wipo.int. Retrieved 2021-12-30.</ref> The domestic legal framework of each designated contracting party governs the design protection provided by the resulting international registrations.<ref>"Hague System Member Profiles". www.wipo.int. Retrieved 2021-12-30.</ref> The Hague System does not require the applicant to file a national or regional design application.<ref name=":5" />
| Applicant | Rank 2020 | Hague applications 2020 | Rank 2019 | Hague applications 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LG Electronics | 1 | 446 | 1 | 449 |
| Xiaomi | 2 | 216 | 3 | 111 |
| Samsung | 3 | 170 | 2 | 166 |
| Hyundai | 4 | 141 | 7 | 57 |
| Philips | 5 | 95 | 4 | 85 |
| Volkswagen | 6 | 84 | 5 | 73 |
| Hermès | 7 | 68 | 15 | 27 |
| Daimler | 8 | 65 | 10 | 42 |
| Proctor & Gamble | 9 | 57 | 6 | 65 |
| Kärcher | 10 | 47 | 12 | 35 |
Controversies
Taiwanese patents
Since Taiwan (ROC) is not a member of the United Nations, the number of patents filed in Taiwan is not reported. The number of patent applications filed with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) in 2018 was 73,431,<ref>"TIPO Statistics Report: Patent and Trademark Applications in 2018". Taiwan Intellectual Property Office. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref> which would place it in 6th place worldwide for that year, or 2nd place per capita. In 2014, Bloomberg ranked Taiwan #1 in Patent Activity, using UN data.<ref>Lu, Wei; Chan, Marcus (6 August 2017). "In Global Innovation Race, Taiwan Is Tops in Patents, Israel Leads in R&D - Bloomberg". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 18 September 2021.</ref><ref>"MOST INNOVATIVE IN THE WORLD 2014: COUNTRIES" (PDF). Bloomberg. 13 March 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-13.</ref> The last WIPO Indicators report to mention the name Taiwan was in 2017, noting the large number of patents by Foxconn.<ref>"World Intellectual Property Indicators 2017" (PDF). WIPO. World Intellectual Property Organization.</ref><ref>"World Intellectual Property Indicators 2018" (PDF). WIPO. World Intellectual Property Organization.</ref><ref>"World Intellectual Property Indicators 2019" (PDF). WIPO. World Intellectual Property Organization.</ref><ref>"World Intellectual Property Indicators 2020" (PDF). WIPO. World Intellectual Property Organization.</ref>
China has been criticized for its efforts in the UN to reduce the visibility of Taiwan,<ref>Horton, Chris (8 May 2017). "Blocked by China, Taiwan Presses to Join U.N. Agency's Meeting". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref><ref>Lee, Kristine. "It's Not Just the WHO: How China Is Moving on the Whole U.N." POLITICO. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref> including via WIPO; in 2020 Beijing reportedly retaliated to the failed election of a Chinese director-general of the organization by preventing the Wikimedia Foundation from gaining observer status at the WIPO, on the grounds that Wikimedia has a Taiwan subsidiary.<ref>Glosserman, Brad (9 March 2020). "China loses a skirmish in fight for global influence". The Japan Times. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref><ref>Hui, Mary (25 September 2020). "Beijing blocked Wikimedia from a UN agency because of "Taiwan-related issues"". Quartz. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref><ref>Magnier, Mark (30 September 2020). "Beijing blocks Wikipedia from UN agency to resist 'Western values': analysts". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 February 2021.</ref>
