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inovia's "U.S. 2011 Global Patent & IP Trends Indicator" Provides In-Depth Look at Foreign Filing Strategies of American Patent Owners
Survey Explores the "New IP Norm" – Smarter, Selective Filings on Reduced Budgets and Other Major Industry Trends
New York, NY · February 28, 2011 · inovia, the leading foreign filing platform provider, today announced the general availability of its annual "U.S. 2011 Global Patent & IP Trends Indicator," the industry's most in-depth look into how the economy has impacted global IP strategy for 2010 and will affect foreign filing plans in 2011.
The Indicator found nearly 60 percent of all respondents are working on a reduced IP budget going into 2011 – continuing the trend of doing more with less in a slowly recovering economy. Respondents credited workflow changes (bringing steps in-house), vendor renegotiations (lower and/or flat rates) and other creative IP budget management techniques to reduce patent costs. For instance, while 45 percent of respondents filed more than half of their patents overseas last year, they became much more strategic about each application and selective with the countries they chose to file into and those they chose to drop. On average, they filed into 5.9 countries in 2010 as compared to 6.6 in 2009.
Other key findings from the Indicator include:
- Shifts in Asian Filing Practices: Of the 25 percent of respondents who said they dropped countries last year, more than 50 percent named Japan. While the Japanese system is among the most advanced in the world, it is also one of the most expensive countries in which to file, and found itself at the mercy of many U.S. organizations' budget cuts. Despite this, other countries in the region, most notably South Korea, saw an increase in patent filings in 2010. Respondents indicated increased interest in South Korea due to its low-cost, high-quality searches and burgeoning industry and innovation, especially in the consumer electronics space.
- Resounding Call for Unified European Patent System: An astonishing 88 percent of respondents answered "Yes" in support of a unified European patent system. Citing the cost, complexity and inefficiency of filing and validating into multiple countries, respondents expressed an overwhelming demand for a streamlined, cost-effective way of getting unified patent protection and enforcement in Europe. While Europe is still the most important region for U.S. organizations, its popularity has decreased in recent years, losing ground to countries like South Korea and China, due to its immense filing costs.
- Filing Trends in China vs. India: China and India have many parallels – they are both large countries, have billion+ populations and are technologically savvy in the semiconductor and software spaces, respectively. When it comes to patent filings though, the Indicator found that China far outweighs India as a filing destination. The reasons for this are the country's growing level of IP knowledge and enforcement, the high amount of resources the Chinese government is putting toward its court system and its emerging innovation and industry. According to WIPO, the number of new patent filings by Chinese applicants has increased by 22.3 percent since 2000 and grew by 25 percent from January to October 2010 from the same time period in 2009.
"This year's Indicator has found that U.S. patent owners are working in a much more selective, sophisticated way – what many of them call 'the new IP norm,'" said Justin Simpson, Founder and Patent Attorney, inovia. "Doing more with less has been a mantra that every industry has had to live by these past several years. What is unique about U.S. patentees is the creativity and optimism in which they have faced these challenges and carried through to ensure that innovation thrives."
Between December 2010 and January 2011, inovia surveyed nearly 150 companies both quantitatively with an online survey and qualitatively with follow-up interviews among a select group of respondents. The companies spanned industries and ranged from small enterprises with a single patent family to multinational organizations with more than 1,000 patent families.
To receive a complimentary copy of the U.S. 2011 Global Patent & IP Trends Indicator,
visit www.inovia.com/survey.
About inovia
inovia is the global leader in foreign patent filing, having served over 1,000 clients. Its global instruction platform, inovia.com, simplifies the PCT national stage entry and European validation processes. With headquarters in New York, offices in London, Munich and Sydney, and agents covering over 80 countries, inovia provides support in all major time zones and IP jurisdictions. inovia's patented technology pioneered online foreign filing and is recognized amongst WIPO's most notable inventions. For more information visit inovia at www.inovia.com and follow the company on Twitter @inoviaIP.
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Cara DiSisto
Senior Marketing Manager
cara.disisto@inovia.com
+1 646 237 3870
