Patenting trends among the SAARC nations: comparing the local and international patenting intensity

An attempt has been made in this study to present an overview of the patenting intensity of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. Patent data originating from SAARC countries from 1995 to 2011, filed through World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), European Patent Office and United States Patent and Trademark Office were collected and analysed. Annual intellectual property (IP) reports of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh patent offices and WIPO annual IP reports were used to congregate patents filed/granted in the respective patent offices. During the study period, inventors from India have been highly active in filling international patents, whereas a modest international patenting activity was observed in case of the remaining SAARC nations. At the country level, a comparison based on the domestic patenting intensity and relative quality indicators shows that Sri Lanka is the strongest scientific country among the SAARC nations.