According to data released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on the 12th, a total of 42,270 international trademark applications were filed under the Madrid system administered by WIPO in 2011, an increase of 6.5% over the previous year and a record high.

    The top three are the European Union, Germany and the United States, and China ranks seventh with 2,149 applications. Ranked by annual growth rate, Russia is the highest and China is the fourth.

    The WIPO-administered Madrid System allows trademark owners to obtain trademark protection in up to 85 Contracting Parties of the Madrid System in one language (English, French or Spanish), one application, one currency (Swiss franc), and one payment .

    WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said: "The Madrid International Trademark System allows each business to protect its brand according to its export strategy, with excellent value for money."

    In the Madrid system, when filing an international application, an applicant must designate the contracting party that wishes to protect its trademark; it can also make a designation at any time during the validity period of the international registration to extend the effect of the international registration to other members. The top 10 designated members in 2011 were the same as in 2010, with China, the European Union and the United States in the top three.

    In addition, in 2011, 2,363 international registrations were registered under the Hague system of WIPO's international design registration, including 12,033 designs, an increase of 6.6% over the previous year. The top three are the European Union, Switzerland, and Germany, and Germany has the highest growth rate.

    The Hague System allows users to apply for protection of industrial designs by submitting a single application, which can contain up to 100 designs and designate one or more contracting parties. There are currently 59 contracting parties to the Hague System, and China has not yet joined.

But Gurry said that China, Japan, the United States and South Korea are all seriously considering joining the Hague System, so "the next few years will see a substantial increase in the Hague System (the number of international design registrations)."