As international filings fall, Samsung and friends make a shrewd Korea move

International trademark filings from Korea leapt by over 33% last year. This figure is all the more startling when placed beside the corresponding statistics from other countries. Madrid filings from US and UK companies fell by 13%, those from China dropped by over 14% and Germany - still the world's biggest Madrid user - tripped by 23%. Applications from troubled Greece plummeted by over one half. Meanwhile, Korean companies filed a third more trademarks last year than in 2008.