The Philippines ranked as the third largest emerging market with high volume of patent applications but they are mostly from non-residents, a study said.

Atty. Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr., Director General of IP Philippines, said that the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) 2009 World IP Indicators revealed that of the 20 emerging countries studied, “the patent office of Ukraine received the largest number of applications, followed by the patent offices of Indonesia, the Philippines and Chile.”

The patent study likewise shows that 96.4% of the patents granted in the country were issued to non-resident filers. The report, which was based on the 2006 worldwide statistics, indicated that in that year, 92.9% of the patents filed in the Philippines were from non-resident filers.

Aside from the Philippines, the emerging countries covered by the study areUkraine, Indonesia, Chile, Malaysia, Egypt, Colombia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Thailand, Peru, Morocco, Romania, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uzbekistan, and Serbia.

With this development, Cristobal has strongly urged Filipino creators, entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses to file more patents. Doing so would enhance their IP assets and portfolios, spurring a stronger and more balanced IP regime for the country.

“IP is an effective tool for national development because IP assets enhance a country’s competitiveness,” he stressed noting the need to improve domestic patenting figures, and encourages Filipinos to make full use of the local patent system to spur homegrown innovations.

“Patent indicators are largely used as a measure of a country’s innovative output,” he added.

IP Philippines data show that from January to August 2009, the patent applications reached 2,929. Of these, 1,378 were granted/registered.