China is making more use of the international patent system, with its patent applications rising sharply in 2006, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said on Wednesday.

China made a total number of 3,910 international patent applications in 2006, an increase of 56.8 percent compared with the previous year, said the UN agency overseeing international property.

The Republic of Korea, another northeast Asian country, also saw a sharp rise of its international patent filings in 2006. It filed a total number of 5,935 applications, a rise of 26.6 percent compared with 2005.

By applying for international patents through WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty, companies can seek protection for an invention in a large number of countries at once.

Worldwide patent applications rose 6.4 percent to a record number of 145,300 in 2006.

According to WIPO, the United States remains the world's largest international patent filers, with just under 50,000 applications in 2006, accounting for 34.1 percent of the world's total applications.

Those followed the United States in terms of total patent application numbers were Japan, Germany, the Republic of Korea, France, Britain, the Netherlands and China.

"The number of international patent applications continues to rise with impressive growth from northeast Asian countries," said Francis Gurry, WIPO' deputy director-general, at a press conference in Geneva.

"Innovation has been traditionally dominated by Europe and North America. New centers of innovation - in particular in northeast Asia - are emerging and this is transforming both the geography of the patent system and of future global economic growth," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2007)