10 Things to Know About Intellectual Property

1. Total global intellectual property applications worldwide in 2012: Patent – 2.35 million; Utility Model – 827,500; Trademark – 6.58 million; Industrial Design – 1.22 million. — World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
2. Patent applications for the top 10 offices in 2012: China – 652,777; USA – 542,815; Japan – 342,796; Republic of Korea – 188,915; European Patent Office – 148,560; Germany – 61,340; Russian Federation – 44,211; India – 43,955; Canada – 35,242; Brazil – 30,435. — WIPO
3. Entities seeking international patents can file through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system to reduce the need to file a separate application in each jurisdiction in which protection is sought. In 2012, the largest number of PCT applications published belonged to ZTE Corporation of China, which specializes in telecommunications equipment and network solutions. — WIPO
4. In the United States in 2012, the total number of direct trademark applications was 297,295 and the total number of direct industrial design applications was 32,799. — WIPO
5. The total number of patents granted in the United States in 2013 was 147,652. That number includes patent counts for utility, design, plant and reissue patents but excludes statutory invention registrations (SIRs). — U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
6. Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) and Non Practicing Entities (NPEs) are firms that own patents but do not make products from them. While there are differences between the two, both are sometimes referred to as “patent trolls,” which exploit technological advances that make it difficult to establish boundaries for patents. They use aggressive litigation tactics against target companies, such as threatening to sue for patent infringement without specific evidence. In June 2013, the White House reported that suits brought by PAEs had tripled in the previous two years. It was estimated that more than 100,000 companies had been sued by PAEs in 2012 alone. — Patent Assertion and U.S. Innovation Report (Office of the President)
7. The top 10 targets of patent trolls in 2013 were: AT&T; Google; Verizon; Apple; Samsung; Amazon; Dell; Sony; Huawei; and Blackberry. — Fortune Magazine, February 2014
8. The median damage award in patent infringement litigation during the most recent four-year period is $4.3 million. Median jury awards are significantly higher than median awards handed down by judges. The largest median awards from 1995 – 2013 occurred in the telecommunications industry. — 2014 Patent Litigation Study, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
9. The average time to trial in patent infringement cases in the United States has been at about 2.5 years since 2005. — 2014 Patent Litigation Study, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
10. The top 10 industries vulnerable to patent infringement litigation in the United States are (in descending order): Consumer products; biotechnology/pharma; industrial construction; computer hardware/electronics; medical devices; software; business/consumer services; telecommunications; automotive/transportation; and chemicals/synthetic materials. — 2014 Patent Litigation Study, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC)