India stands third in the list of international patent applications filed by developing countries in 2005, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Ranbaxy Laboratories are among the top ten users of the PCT from developing countries.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), international patent applications received from developing countries in 2005 saw a 20% increase as compared to 2004, representing 6.7% of all international patent applications filed. The list was topped by applications from the Republic of Korea with 4,747 applications, followed by China (2,452), India (648), South Africa (336), Singapore (438), Brazil (283) and Mexico (136).

The top ten users of the PCT from developing countries are Samsung Electronics (Republic of Korea), LG Electronics (Republic of Korea), Huawei Technologies (China), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (India), Ranbaxy Laboratories (India), LG Chem (Republic of Korea), Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (Republic of Korea), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (Singapore), ZTE Corporation (China) and NHN Corporation (Republic of Korea).

According to Ranbaxy sources, the company has filed 57 patent applications in last quarter of 2005, bringing this figure to a total of 185 patent applications filed during 2005. According to CSIR sources, of the 229 US patents granted in 2004-'05 to Indian inventors (excluding foreign assignees), CSIR has 140 (61.1%). Even if one considers Indian inventors including foreign assignees, CSIR's share is still 28.3%. During 2004, CSIR filed 495 international patent applications and 212 were granted.

Procter & Gamble (461), Bayer Healthcare AG (310), Medtronic, Inc. (245), Novartis AG (227), Astrazeneca AB (216) and Merck & Co., (189) figure among the top 50 patent applicants in 2005.

The five top users of the international patent system are United States of America, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. In 2005, over 134,000 PCT applications were filed, representing a 9.4% increase over the previous year. The Republic of Korea is the 6th biggest user of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and China is the 10th largest PCT user.