In a world where technology is developing rapidly and competition is increasing, the number of patent applications made by those who want to protect their inventions is increasing more than in the past years. In parallel with the developing technology, the areas of technology to which patent applications are made vary.
Patent applications are not published at the time of application. For example, national applications made to Turkey, the European Patent (EP) applications, or international applications made in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) can be published within 18 months from the date of application (or priority rights, if applicable) or earlier by the applicant's request. The contents of the patent applications can only be examined after the applications are published. Therefore, third parties can only determine in which areas of technology the patent applications were made after the publication.
Patent applications receive International Classification Codes (IPC) according to the related fields of technology fields. Although patent applications do not guarantee the launch of a product, IPC codes of published patent applications are known to play an important role in determining which direction the technology will take.
According to the IPC-based data obtained from WIPO (World Intellectual Property Rights Organization), considering the national patent applications and the applications published in 2000, it is seen that the applications related to electrical machines, electrical devices and electrical energy * are in the leading position. In 2005, patent applications related to computer technologies ** took the lead, and until 2017, the highest number of patent applications were made in the field of computer technologies. During this period, applications related to electrical machinery, electrical devices and electrical energy ranked second. If we look at it on the country level, between 2015-2017, most applications in South Korea and Japan were published in the field of electrical machines, electrical devices and electrical energy, and in the United States, in the field of computer technologies. In China, the highest number of applications was published in the field of electrical machinery, electrical devices and electrical energy between 2015-2016, while computer technologies took the lead in 2017.
Considering the publications of PCT applications, it is seen that the highest number of PCT applications in 2000 was in the field of biological materials analysis ***. In the second place is the field of medical technology ****. In 2005, the applications related to computer technology were more than the other fields. In 2010 and 2011, the digital communication ***** area took the first place, while in 2014, 2015 and 2017 computer technologies took the lead again. However, in 2017, the number of applications made in the fields of computer technology, digital communication and electrical machines, electrical devices, electrical energy constitutes approximately a quarter of the total applications published in 2017. In 2016 and 2018, the highest number of applications was published in the field of digital communication (Graphic 1 gives the rates of technology-based applications related to PCT applications published in 2018):
If we look at it regionally, especially to Europe, the highest number of European patent applications between 2009 and 2010 were made in the fields of medical technology, computer technology and electrical machinery, electrical devices and electrical energy, respectively. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the ranking changed to medical technology, digital communication, and computer technology, and this ranking did not change for 3 years (Graphic 2 shows the rates of technology-based applications regarding the EP applications made in 2018):
In summary, when the statistics of the national, PCT and European patent applications are evaluated, the applications made in the field of computer technologies have always been in the top three. When we look at the PCT and European Patent applications, we see that the number of applications made in the field of digital communication has been in the first two in the last three years, in parallel with the developing technology. The increasing number of applications made regarding smartphones, and the fact that the Chinese company Huawei, which is one of the leading companies in the smartphone industry and is now one of the leading companies in the sector, is the company with the highest number of applications in 2017 and 2018 in PCT applications, and the company with the highest number of applications in 2017 (In 2018, Huawei took the second place with 9 fewer applications from the first company) confirms this statistic. However, it should not be overlooked that, considering the European Patent applications, the applications made in the field of medical technology have been increasing in the last 5 years and it has always been in the leading position in the ranking. With regards to the PCT applications, applications made in the field of medical technology in the last three years have always been in the top places.
* Covers lighting devices, power and electrical energy supply systems, basic electrical elements and techniques. Some examples in this field are power cables, magnets, relays, and x-ray techniques.
** Includes programming and computing devices. Some examples in this area are digital computers and data processing systems.
*** An example in this area is blood analysis.
**** Medical instruments for diagnosis and treatment of diseases and surgeries, treatment of diseases. Some examples in this field are vaccination devices, prostheses, surgical robots, computed tomography and pacemakers.
***** Covers basic electronic circuits and electronic communications. The best-known example in this area is smartphones.
Sources:
https://www.wipo.inthttps://www.epo.org Samet SÖZENSenior Consultantsamet.sozen@destekpatent.com.tr
