TIPO releases IPR statistics for the fourth quarter of 2017
2018/03/29 TaiwanDate Posted：2018-03-29
In the fourth quarter of 2017, TIPO received a total of 19,464 applications for patents. Among them, 12,579 are invention patents, a 2 percent increase from the same period last year; 4,921 are utility models, and 1,964 are design patents, a drop of 5 and 14 percent from the same period last year, respectively.
Among invention patent applications, by nationality of applicants, 5,411 applications were filed by domestic residents while 7,168 ones filed by foreigners, representing a 1 and 2 percent year-on-year increase, respectively. In particular, the number of applications filed by domestic residents has been on the rise for five consecutive quarters. By nationality of applicants of foreign origins, Japan topped the list with 3,047 applications, followed by the US (1,624) and mainland China (587).
As for invention patent applications by domestic companies, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) came top with 383 applications, followed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) (295), Inventec Corporation (124), Hon Hai (109), and AU Optronics (AUO) (96). As for applications by foreign companies, Qualcomm topped the list with 203 applications, followed by OPPO Electronics Corporation (123), Applied Materials (117), Alibaba Group Holding Limited (115), and Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) (88). In particular, OPPO Electronics Corporation, a mainland-China-based company, registered a growth rate of 1267% in terms of the number of its applications this season, in comparison with the same period last year, an impressive rise worth paying attention to.
In the meantime, the number of new applications for trademark registration (21,244) has risen 0.4 percent, in comparison with the same period last year. Among them, 14,957 applications were filed by Taiwanese nationals while 6,287 ones filed by foreigners, representing a 3 percent decrease and an 8 percent increase, respectively. By nationality of applicants of foreign origins, mainland China topped the list with 1,551 applications, followed by Japan (1,077) and the US (1,001).
Intellectual Property Office Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C.
