Trademarking holds up as recession looms

International trademark activity remained robust overall in 2008 with the World International Property Organisation (WIPO) receiving a record 42,075 applications under the 84-member Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks.

This represents a 5.3 per cent increase over 2007. Filing activity was stronger in the first six months of the year, up by 6.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2007. In the second half activity was up by 3.9 per cent, mirroring the slowdown in global economic conditions.

Applicants from Germany topped the list of top filers for the 16th consecutive year, followed by France, the US, the European Community, Switzerland, Italy, Benelux, China, Japan and Austria. China remained the most designated country in international trademark applications followed by the Russian Federation, reflecting sustained interest by foreign companies in trading in those countries.

Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General, said the continued growth in the use of the international trademark system underlines the pivotal importance of trademarks to business, particularly within challenging economic times. “Trademarks play a key role in engendering consumer confidence, an important factor for businesses facing the challenges of the current economic slowdown.”

The 27 countries of the European Union accounted for over half of the international applications received, some 27,242, in 2008. This figure includes both the international applications filed through the national trademark offices of the countries concerned and those filed through the EC’s regional trademark office in Alicante, Spain. Since October 2004, applicants from the EC have had the option to file their international applications either through their national trademark office or through Alicante.

Applicants from Germany filed 6,214 applications representing 14.8 per cent of the total and a growth rate of 2 per cent. France accounted for 10 per cent, an increase of 7.3 per cent on 2007. US companies filed the third largest number of applications 3,684 or 8.8 per cent of the total, a slight decrease of 1.5 per cent over 2007. The EC’s Alicante office ranked fourth with 3,600 international applications, up by 6.8 per cent over 2007. Switzerland moved into 5th position with an 8.6 per cent growth rate, overtaking Italy which fell to 6th position with 2,763 international applications or 3.7 per cent growth.

A number of countries showed significant growth rates in 2008. Japan, for example, with 29.9 per cent growth and 1,278 applications moved up to 9th place from 12th in 2007. The Russian Federation ranked 11, up two places from 13th in 2007. Spain retained its 14th place with 14.2 per cent growth and Turkey its 15th position with a 24.1 per cent rate of growth. The Czech Republic, with a growth rate of 12 per cent moved up to 16th from 17th place. Poland with a 41.5 per cent rate of growth moved up 5 places to rank 19. Slovenia made 62.6 per cent more applications to move up seven places to 23rd position, while Latvia moved into 31st position with a 48.7 per cent growth rate.

Developing countries accounted for 2,133 filings in 2008, representing 5.1 per cent of the total. The developing country with the highest growth was Viet Nam with a 51.6 per cent increase.

The total number of international registrations in force reached 503,650.