From the report -

Although much attention is given to the high growth rates in patenting in the North East Asian region, other industrializing countries and countries in transition are also showing steady increases in their use of the patent system. Patent applicants from countries such as Brazil, India, Israel and South Africa are all increasing their patent filings abroad - a sign of the increasing internationalization and diversity of the patent system.

However, the increase in patent filings from newly industrialized countries does not yet translate into ownership of patent rights internationally by applicants from those countries. Of the approximately 5.6 million patents in force in 2005, 49% were owned by applicants from two established industrialized countries - Japan and the United States of America. The major European countries are also strongly represented in ownership of patent rights. As the increase in patent filings flows through the system into patent grants over the coming years, we can expect to see this proportion change and the ownership of patent rights worldwide become more diversified.

Worldwide, 38% of patent applications are by non-resident applicants. These applications are usually preceded by prior applications in the country of residence of the applicant and, often, by parallel applications in other countries. Each of these applications may be subject to a separate search and examination in each patent office.

The chart shows the top 20 patent offices according to the total number of patent filings in 2005. [Note that Americans file only half of the U.S. patents filed.]

The table below shows the technical fields of patent applications filed from 2000 to 2004 (data for 2004 adjusted for missing values).

*Patent applications filed in the field of electricity and electronics represent 32% of the total.
*The three fastest growing technical fields from 2000 to 2004 were medical technology (+32.2%), Audio-visual technology (+28.3%) and information technology (+27.7%).

WIPO statistically slices and dices figures every which way for the data available. It's macro-economic infotainment, but at some points a somewhat silly misapplication of statistics.¹ For example, the U.S. is just behind Poland, and way below entrepreneurial palace and patent powerhouse Russia (not to mention New Zealand), when it comes to "resident patent applications filed per million dollars of research and development (R&D) expenditures measured in constant year 2000 US dollars at purchasing power parity (PPP)." It's time for America to lay off the lotto tickets and get patenting. Oh, but the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't like patents, particularly ones in the technical field identified by WIPO as burgeoning: information technology.² Never mind.

 As you can see, on top of the statistical tomfoolery, WIPO does a rather meager hash of presentation. Suggested reading for WIPOians - the classic The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, by Edward Tufte. Tufte's other books are also crucial consumption for visual presenters.

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¹ The correlation of patents to R&D is spurious, because different technologies require vastly different expenditures for innovation. Software inventions can be practically had by a creative boffin as a thought experiment, whereas new drug compounds cost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in extensive research and testing.

Statistical analysis is easy. Conceptual understanding of appropriate application of statistics eludes many statisticians.

² Self-absorbed SCOTUS Justice Bryer, during oral arguments leading the KSR: "I take it that we are operating under the assumption that software is patentable? We have never held that in this Court, have we?"