"Patents filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), an agreement administered by the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that provides a simplified method for international patent filing, increased by 4.8 per cent in 2010."
As regards Croatia, the WIPO reported that there were 51 patent applications in 2010, or 13 applications more than in 2009.
Croatia is lagging behind Slovenia with 121 patent applications or Hungary with 166 applications.
However, Croatia has outpaced Slovakia (45), Serbia (19) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (14).
The United Sates tops the ranking with 44,855 patent applications and is followed by Japan (32,156) and Germany (17,171). China ranks fourth (9,686).