Although intellectual property budgets continue to be squeezed, patent filings are on the rise, according to a recently released report, indicating that in-house counsel are finding ways to do more with less when it comes to their companies’ IP.
In 2016, nearly 50 percent of respondents filed between 4 and 49 patents and 24 percent filed 50 or more, up from 16 percent the previous year, according to the eighth annual “2017 Global Patent & IP Trends Indicator” report from patent filing services provider RWS inovia. At the same time, the report, which included responses from patent applicants from more than 115 companies and universities around the world, revealed that one-third of respondents dealt with IP budget cuts in 2016. For just over 19 percent of those surveyed, this is the first time in recent years that the budget was reduced, and for those who saw a budget cut, nearly 22 percent said it was by more than 30 percent.
