Agence France-Presse . Geneva

Asian economies were the main driver behind record patent growth in 2007 with China, Japan and South Korea accounting for more than a quarter of new registrations, the World Intellectual Property Organisation said Thursday.

China alone saw a 38.1 per cent rise in the number of new patents over the past year, taking it to seventh place overall, WIPO said.

The United States remains the world's leader, with an estimated 52,280 patents recorded in 2007, followed by Japan with 27,731. On a global basis, the number of new patents reached a record 156,100, up 4.7 per cent from 2006. 'The growth in patent filings by a number of countries in northeast Asia and their share of overall patenting activity is impressive and confirms shifting patterns of innovation around the world,' said WIPO Director General Kamil Idris.

'It is most encouraging to see clear evidence that countries in the region are embracing the tools of the international patent system,' he added. China is at the vanguard of patent registration among developing countries, far outstripping its Asian rival India with 5,456 new patents in 2007 compared to 686.

WIPO deputy director general Francis Gurry explained this gap by pointing to the different natures of the respective economies. India's strong software and IT industry is more likely to use copyright rather than patents to protect its innovations, he said. China meanwhile 'is an industrial economy, strong in new inventions,' he told reporters.

The growing clout of Asian economies was underscored by the fact that Japanese multinational Matsushita overtook Dutch electronics giant Philips to become the leading corporate register of patents in 2007.

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