Applications for new trademarks and renewals of existing trademarks both increased steadily in 2010, indicating a recovery from setbacks experienced as a result of the global economic crisis, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization.

According to WIPO, 2010 saw an increase of approximately 12.8 percent in the number of trademark applications made under the 85-member Madrid System for the International Registration of Trademarks. The total number of applications filed under the system was 39,687, WIPO said.

WIPO also recorded 21,949 international trademark renewals, a figure 14.1 percent higher than the number of renewals in 2009.

When submitting a trademark application, an applicant can specify the member states in which the desired trademark, if granted, will apply. According to WIPO, China was the top designated country, followed by the European Union, the United States, the Russian Federation, Switzerland and Japan.

Francis Gurry, director general of WIPO, expressed satisfaction with the figures. "International trademark activity has rebounded and has nearly recovered the ground lost in 2009,” Gurry said.