The number of patent applications in the second quarter increased 5.2 percent from a year earlier, figures released by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on Tuesday showed.
A total of 20,972 patent applications were filed in the second quarter, with 13,395 cases filed by Taiwanese, up 4.61 percent year-on-year, and 7,577 cases by foreigners, up 6.25 percent from the same period of last year, IPO data showed.
HON HAI
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) topped the ranks of companies with the highest number of patent applications in the second quarter at 829, followed by AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) with 122, Acer Inc (宏碁) with 115, Wistron Corp (緯創) with 112 and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) with 95.
For the first half of the year, Hon Hai also took the lead with 1,388 cases, followed by Acer with 200, Wistron with 199, ITRI with 182 and AU Optronics with 174.
Among foreign countries, Japan accounted for the most patent applications in the second quarter at 2,773, followed by the US with 1,667 and South Korea with 363, data showed.
China, which ranked fifth with 276 applications in the quarter, saw the largest increase, growing 157.94 percent from the same period last year.
TRADEMARKS
As for trademarks, a record 19,739 trademark applications were filed in the second quarter, up 17.01 percent from the same period last year, IPO data showed.
A total of 14,882 trademark applications were filed by Taiwanese, while foreigners filed 4,857. Both figures were the highest since the first quarter of 2001, when the Ministry of Economic Affairs started tracking trademark applications, according to the data.
Japanese accounted for the most trademark applications with 1,085, followed by Americans with 914, and Chinese with 783.
China also was the leader in terms of growth on the trademark front, rising 55.98 percent growth from a year earlier. That meant China has begun placing more value on applying for patent and trademark protection in Taiwan, an indication of frequent interaction between people across the Taiwan Strait, the IPO said.
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