Last year 14,205 patent applications for technology related products and technologies were filed.
In 2011 that figure was 11,974, showing an increase of 19% in 2012.
The cost of filing a patent varies from country to country, but prices start at £230 in the UK.
Graphene had been a particularly popular patent subject in 2012, as it is an ultra-thin carbon layer- which can be for many applications including flexibility, electrical conductivity and tensile strength which is greater than steel.
However across the board, the patenting of it is increasing.
The high profile patent wars between technology giants such as Apple and Samsung, Google and Microsoft, may have contributed to the increase in filings.
Whilst everybody in the hi-tech industry is picking up their patenting- there is also a corresponding cautiousness that is slowing people down.
Patents gave their owners “exclusivity” over their ideas but could also enable greater cooperation with other companies- including suppliers
The reason mobile devices by different manufacturers and networks can talk to each other is because of enormous co-operations – and they were made possible by patents.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee- the man credited with inventing the world wide web, refused to patent his creation. He said all he had done was to bring existing elements together.
Last year he spoke out in a Texas courtroom against a patent claim brought by a company called Eolas regarding interactivity on the internet.
When asked by the judge who he believed owned the web, Sir Tim replied: “We do.”