WIPO has published its report, World Intellectual Property Indicators 2012, on intellectual property (IP) filing statistics and related trends around the world in 2011. The report states that patent filings continued to rise with an increase of 7.8% over 2010 (which itself saw an increase of 7.5% over 2009). Trade mark filings increased by 13.3%, according to the report the same increase as in 2010. Design filings increased by 16%, following 13.9% growth in 2010. China was apparently a huge influence behind the overall increase: in 2011, China's State IP Office (SIPO) overtook the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the highest number of patent filings in the world. (SIPO was already the top-ranked office for trade marks and designs.) Conversely, the European Patent Office, the Japan Patent Office, the Korean IP Office and USPTO saw decreases in their shares of world totals. Trade mark and design filings followed a similar trend.

Sources: WIPO report and WIPO press release, 11 December 2012.