Int'l trademark activities grew 5.3% in 2008

The activities related to filing international trademarks has recorded a growth rate of 5.3 per cent in 2008, with 42,075 applications filed during the year, UN agency World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) said today.

However, the trademark filing activity has not been able to stay detached from the adverse impact of the economic slowdown and grew by merely 3.9 per cent in the second half of last year compared with 6.9 per cent in the first half of 2008, the Geneva-based WIPO said in a statement.

"The continued growth in the use of the international trademark system underlines the pivotal importance of trademarks to business, particularly within challenging economic times," WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said.

The member countries, under WIPO's Madrid system for the international registration of trademarks, had filed a total of 39,945 trademark applications in 2007.

"Even in economically difficult times, businesses continue to recognise that a trademark is a smart investment in a company's reputation and long-term sustainability," Gurry added.

"Trademarks play a key role in engendering consumer confidence, an important factor for businesses facing the challenges of the current economic slowdown," he added.