The analysis showed that the annual rate of patent filings increased by 10% starting in the 1990s and by 25% from 2001 to 2005. Based on the patent activities seen in different patent offices, Europe and Japan showed a steady increase in patent applications, while patent applications increased exponentially in the US, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and under the PCT system (WIPO, 2011).
Another patent mapping study was conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the EPO and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and presented in the report Patents and clean energy: Bridging the gap between evidence and policy. (Report available at: EPO - Patents and clean energy ).
The study used PATSTAT, a worldwide patent statistics database managed by EPO, to look at six main RETs – solar energy, wind energy, ocean energy, geothermal energy, hydropower and bioenergy.
It found that the leading countries in terms of patent activities in these technologies were Japan, the US, Germany, South Korea, the UK and France. These countries together accounted for almost 80% of all patent applications in the RETs reviewed. At the same time, some emerging economies were showing specialisation.
China, for example, showed notable patent activity in the area of solar PV (UNEP, EPO and ICTSD, 2010). |  |
