AS FAR as statistical particulars go, the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (w-ipo), has come up with an interesting detail. It received its 250,000th international application for a patent early last month, under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The applicant reportedly belongs to the us and the patent was for an application in the field of environmental technology.

While the 100,000th international application under the PCT was received in February 1991, 13 years after PcT took shape, the latest landmark achieved in only five years since the filing of the 100,000th patent application, is being attributed to express growth of the PCT system.