December 23, 2005
Taiwan received 5,938 utility patents in the United States in 2004, earning it a ranking of fourth globally, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics reports. This marks an increase for Taiwan of 640 US utility patents compared to 2003.
Of the total of 164,293 utility patents approved in the US last year, the US itself, with 84,271, claimed over half, while Japan followed with 35,350 and Germany with 10,779. Together, these three countries accounted for approximately 80% of the utility patents issued in the US in 2004.
The number of all patents issued in the US in 2004 fell 5,728 from 2003 to 181,322, while the number of utility patents dropped by 4,733.
Rounding out the top ten for US utility patents in 2004 were South Korea, Great Britain, France, Canada, Italy and Sweden.
The US is Taiwan's third largest overseas market, while Taiwan is the eighth largest import market for the US.
(Central News Agency)
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