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 "In line with growing investments in research and development, the
automobile industry has seen a sharp increase in international
patent filings over the last three years," WIPO said in a statement.
In 2013, 4,275 patents were filed by auto manufacturers, compared
with 3,606 in 2012. Patent applications jumped 84 percent from 2010,
when 2,322 were filed, WIPO said.
Regulators across the world are demanding that automakers increase
fuel efficiency and lower carbon dioxide pollution levels, a
challenge that has forced manufacturers to invest in more efficient
engines and new lightweight technologies.
The Obama administration in the United States finalized gas mileage
standards in 2012, calling on automakers to boost their corporate
average fuel economy (CAFE).
Last month, the European Parliament tightened carbon dioxide
pollution standards.
The rise in patents comes as car companies are increasingly relying
on software and powerful computers to help make cars safer, more
entertaining, more fuel efficient and better at solving problems.
The need to lower C02 emissions has been particularly tough for
German manufacturers, who have relied on making high-powered
limousines, forcing them to develop new technologies.
BMW on Thursday said operating profit at its core automotive
division fell 14 percent in the last three months of 2013, despite
higher vehicle sales, due to spending on fuel-efficient technology
and new model launches.
With 1,696 published patent applications, Toyota Motor Corp ranked
highest among the automakers that make use of the Patent and
Cooperation Treaty (PCT), followed by Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor
Co, Daimler AG and Audi AG, WIPO said.
The ranking is not a definitive indication of which companies are
most innovative, said Carsten Fink, chief economist at WIPO.
It is, however, a reflection of which companies make most use of the
PCT, which allows firms to get protection in multiple jurisdictions
by filing a single international patent application.
Some automakers prefer to file for patent protection only in their
home countries. General Motors Co. for example, filed no patents via
the PCT in 2013.
However, according to The Patent Board, a consultancy which pulls
together patent grants and application data from the United States
Patent and Trade Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO)
and WIPO, General Motors received 1,672 U.S. patents in 2013.
China's automakers, too, are using of international tools to
protect intellectual property, the filings show.
Qoros Automobile Co, an automaker controlled by China's Chery
Automobile Co Ltd and Israel Corp, filed seven international
patents, WIPO said. And Zhejiang Geely Holding filed one patent,
WIPO said.
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AUTOS REFLECT WIDER TREND
The rise in the automotive sector echoes a trend toward filing more
patents across all industries as products grow in technological
sophistication and firms seek to prevent innovations from being
copied by rivals across the globe.
The total number of filings made under WIPO's Patent and Cooperation
Treaty rose 5.1 percent to 205,300 in 2013. The United States
remains the most-active user of the system, with 57,239 applications
in 2013 followed by Japan.
China surpassed Germany to become the third largest user of the PCT
system, WIPO said.
The largest share of patent applications was filed in the area of
electronic machinery, representing 7.8 percent of the total,
followed by computer technology and digital communications with 7.7
percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.
Panasonic Corporation, Toyota Jidosha KK, Robert Bosch and Siemens
AG were the top applicants in the field of electronic machinery.
Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated, and
NEC Corporation were the top applicants for computer technology,
WIPO said.
In digital communications, China's ZTE Corporation and Huawei
Technologies Co. Ltd were ahead of Ericsson and Qualcomm, WIPO said.
International trademark applications reached a record high, with
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis heading the list with 228
applications in 2013.
International industrial design applications filed under the Hague
system increased to 2,990 filings in 2013, representing growth of
14.8 percent on 2012.
(Editing by Anthony Barker)
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