According to the data of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Adres Patent, the rate of female inventors in international patent applications in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is increasing, with a significant rise in Türkiye.
Adres Patent General Manager Cumhur Akbulut stated that Türkiye has performed above the average in the increase of women inventors, increasing the rate of female inventors in PCT applications in the world from 10% to 16% from 2007 to 2021.
Pointing out the ranking of female inventor applications – Türkiye ranks second after Spain with 24.2%, while China ranks third – Akbulut said that women inventors also play an essential role in product commercialization processes.
Emphasizing the predominance of women inventors in patent research processes, Akbulut said: "The incentives for women and the initiatives for entrepreneurship to include more women in the sectors began to bear fruit. Compared to 20 years ago, female participation was hardly seen in many sectors. This is also valuable in increasing the contribution of the country's economy."
"On the other hand, PCT applications, which offer significant conveniences to countries, especially in foreign patent applications, provide substantial advantages in terms of both time and cost to many institutions and organizations. Moreover, PCT applications offer a structure that facilitates the work of our exporters at the point of application to target countries."
The Patent Cooperation Treaty allows applicants to apply for patent (invention) protection in as many contracting states as desired, and therefore almost worldwide, with a single patent application.
