The month of August saw the third highest number of applications for intellectual property rights for 2016, the latest information from the Economic Services Bureau reveals, with 1,054 applications received, spearheaded by 988 brand applications, and followed by 30 extensions of invention patents. So far this year, some 7,965 applications have been received, of which over 93 per cent apply to brand applications. Extensions to invention patents, making up less than four per cent, have been the second most popular. Applications in August saw a 463 per cent year-on-year increase, given that in the same month last year a total of 187 patent applications were received, the lowest monthly total of that year. Brand applications for intellectual property rights increased 850 per cent year-on-year from 104 in August last year, while extensions for invention patents saw a 25 per cent decrease year-on-year, from the 40 received in August last year. A seven per cent year-on-year reduction was evident in the overall number of patents applied for during the first eight months of the year. Utility patents continue to register the lowest number of applications for intellectual property rights, amounting to only three in August, with 10 so far this year, a 10 per cent increase from the same eight-month period last year.
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