Bangalore: Patenting activity is an indicator of innovation and India has seen a remarkable rise over the years in patent filing. Although it stands sixteen positions behind its foreign counterparts, India has tremendously shown a double digit increase of 11.2 percent from its previous figures.

A report on International Patent Filings by WIPO, traces the trends of patent filing globally and strives to promote innovation and creativity for the economic, social and cultural development of all countries.

The report states that WIPO-administered Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) set a new record in 2011 with 181,900 applications – a growth of 10.7% in 2010 and the fastest growth since 2005. China, Japan and the United States of America (US) accounted for 82% of the total growth.

“The recovery in international patent filings that we saw in 2010 gained strength in 2011,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “This underlines the important role played by the PCT system in a world where innovation is an increasingly important feature of economic strategy. It also shows that companies have been continuing to innovate in 2011 – reassuring news in times of persistent economic uncertainty.”