GENEVA: Patent applications from China rose sharply last year, suggesting that the country is making more use of the international patent system, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said on Wednesday.

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

The Republic of Korea also sought more international patents last year, filing 5,935 applications, or 26.6 percent more than in 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 145,300 last year.

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

Japan, Germany, the Republic of Korea, France, Britain, the Netherlands and China followed.

"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.