Trends of Patent Applications in Japan in 2013

According to the 2014 Annual Report by the Japan Patent Office (JPO), trends of patent applications and their examination status in recent years are as follows.

Number of Patent Applications in 2013

In 2013, the number of patent applications filed in Japan at the JPO was 328,436, a 4.2% decrease compared to the previous year. Among the total number of patent applications in 2013, about 272,000 applications were filed by residents of Japan and about 57,000 applications were filed by non-residents(residents of foreign countries and regions).

Data source : JPO (including all of the following) Among the total number of patent applications filed by non-residents, applications by USA residents were the most numerous, (23,481), followed by Europe^* (20,604), Korea (6,134) and China (2,064). *：EPC member countries

The First Office Action (FA) Pendency

In 2013, the number of requests for examination was about 245,000, while the number of First office Action (Fas) issued was about 356,000. As a result, the FA Pendency in JPO was shortened to 11.0 months by the end of FY2013 (the year ending March 31, 2014), a considerable reduction compared to the previous fiscal year. Therefore the long-term objective “FA11” has been achieved.

The Patent Allowance Rate

In 2013, the number of Decision to Grant a Patent at the JPO was about 261,000, about a 6,000 increase over the previous year.
The Patent Allowance Rate^* (Rate of Decision to Grant a Patent) in 2013 was 69.8%, a 3% increase over the previous year.

*The Patent Allowance rate : the number of Decisions to Grant a Patent / the number of Decision to Grant a Patent + the number of Decision of Refusal + the number of Withdrawals and Abandonment after First Action.

The grant rate of Appeals against Decision of Refusal

In 2013, the number of Appeals against a Decision of Refusal (patent) was 24,644, nearly equal to the number for the previous year. The grant rate of Appeals against the Decision of Refusal was 55%, a 1% decrease over the previous year.

Number of PCT Applications

The number of PCT applications filed with the JPO as the International Receiving Office in 2013 was about 42,787, a 0.7% increase compared to 2012(42,787).