South Korea ranked fifth worldwide in the first seven months of the year in terms of international patent applications, a U.N. patent agency said Monday.
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), South Korea filed 2,554 patents in the January-July period under the agency's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system, WIPO's unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions internationally.
The country was the sixth-largest filer of international patents last year, with 4,686 applications.
The United States continued to be the biggest user of the PCT system, with 21,742, trailed by Japan and Germany with 13,392 and 7,892, respectively.
South Korea, which ranked ninth in 2002, has shown a steady increase, climbing to the seventh spot in 2003 and the following year.
Korean Intellectual Property Office chief Jeon Sang-woo, who was attending the general assembly of the Geneva-based U.N. body the same day, promised in a keynote speech that South Korea will contribute to the establishment of international patent regulations, as well as play a leading role in areas of intellectual property rights.
Jeon also visited a meeting of patent heads of 12 advanced nations held at the Canadian mission here, and discussed with WIPO Secretary General Kamil Idris ways to improve international patent systems.
WIPO is a U.N. organization dedicated to promoting the use and protection of intellectual property.
Geneva, Sept. 25 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea ranks 5th in patent applications worldwide in Jan.-July |
