IP Australia recently issued the 2014 Australian Intellectual Property Report. The report reveals a growth in all types of applications filed at IP Australia during 2013. Patent filings increased by 13 percent, design filings by 7 percent, plant breeder’s rights by nine percent and trade mark filings by less than one percent.
The report also reveals that Australian residents continue to file strongly overseas and in 2012 filed three times as many foreign patent applications as they filed in Australia. The top three patent filing destinations for Australians are the United States, the European Patent Office and China. The United States is the most popular foreign filing destination for Australian applicants with about 42 percent of such foreign patent filings being received at the USPTO.
Australians are also filing increasing numbers of foreign trade mark applications. In 2011, China became the top destination for foreign trade mark applications filed by Australian applicants. Australian trade mark applicants also file strongly in New Zealand and the United States.
A full copy of the Australian Intellectual Property Report 2014 is available here.