RIYADH: Jordan registered 20 patents and nearly 1,000 trademarks in the first quarter of the year, building on 2024’s totals of 111 and 5,687, respectively, according to official data.
Of the patents logged between January and March, one was a local innovation, signaling continued growth in domestic research and development, Jordan News Agency reported.
The data also revealed 999 new trademarks were registered, while 1,608 existing trademarks were renewed during the same period. The previous year saw the renewal of 6,245 trademarks, Petra added.
In addition to new registrations, the Industrial Property Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply renewed 138 patents, issued five industrial property licenses, processed 310 requests for name and address changes, and approved the transfer of ownership for 499 industrial properties.
In the most recent rankings from the World Intellectual Property Organization, covering 2023, Jordan was placed 58th globally for patent applications, with residents filing 21 patents, a 16 percent decrease from the previous year.
Pharmaceuticals dominated technical fields, accounting for 37.8 percent of patents, followed by medical technology.
Trademark filings showed stronger momentum, reaching 5,640 in 2023, with residents driving nearly 70 percent of registrations.
The US, Saudi Arabia, and China were top foreign destinations for Jordanian IP filings, underscoring global commercial ties.
Challenges persist, including low resident applications per gross domestic product and a modest share of women inventors. Yet, universities contributed 47.3 percent of Patent Cooperation Treaty applications, pointing to academia’s pivotal role in research and development.
The latest data from WIPO showed that Saudi Arabia recorded 6,496 patent applications in 2023 — a 31 percent annual increase — ranking 27th globally.
Residents in the Kingdom drove nearly half of these filings, with civil engineering accounting for 21.9 percent and chemicals for 12.3 percent.
Saudi Arabia also registered 37,068 trademark filings, reflecting robust commercial activity, although women inventors accounted for just 7.8 percent of patents.
The UAE demonstrated dynamic growth, particularly in trademarks, with 30,472 filings, and patents, with 992 applications.
Qatar’s IP activity remained modest but specialized, with 180 patent applications and 3,155 trademark filings in 2023.
