The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that it recently received the 2 millionth filing under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The filing was made by US-based Qualcomm. The PCT system was established in 1978 and provides a way for applicants to obtain the benefit of one international filing date which is recognized in the 142 member countries.

The top 20 PCT filers are:

1. Panasonic Corporation (Japan)

2. Philips Electronics N.V. (Netherlands)

3. Huawei Technologies Co. (China)

4. Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany)

5. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Germany)

6. Qualcomm Incorporated (USA)

7. Toyota (Japan)

8. LG Electronics Inc. (Republic of Korea)

9. Ericsson (Sweden)

10.Sharp (Japan)

11. Nokia (Finland)

12. NEC Corporation (Japan)

13. BASF Aktiengesellschaft (Germany)

14. Fujitsu Limited (Japan)

15. 3M Innovative Properties Company (USA)

16. ZTE Corporation (China), Motorola Inc. (USA)

17. Motorola Inc. (USA)

18. Microsoft Corporation (USA)

19. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan)

20. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Republic of Korea).