International trademark filings drop in 2009: WIPO

GENEVA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- International trademark filings tracked by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) dropped by 16 percent in 2009.

"That is a very significant amount," WIPO secretary general Francis Gurry said here.

International trademark filings document the unveiling of new products or companies on a global scale. In 2009, WIPO received 35,195 international applications under the 84-member Madrid System, compared to 42,075 in 2008.

"Trademarks are leading indicators of what is happening in the economy," Gurry said, pointing to the initial decline in registrations halfway through 2007. "Last year, of course, was the year in which the greatest effect was felt," Gurry said.

Despite the overall decline, the number of applications from several countries increased substantially: the Republic of Korea by 33.9 percent, Singapore by 20.5 percent and Croatia by 17.5 percent. At the corporate level, Novartis, a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, was the largest filer in 2009.

As usual, Germany topped the list of countries filing for trademarks while the greatest number of trademarks was filed for use in China. Gurry explained this second phenomenon as follows: "First, it's a huge market. Your market potential is enormous: 1.2 billion consumers. Second, you have a lot of competition there so you want to make sure you are protected."

Gurry expects modest increases in international trademark filings in 2010.

Geneva-based WIPO was established in 1967 and has 184 member states.