A new WIPO report on intellectual property trends shows that demand for IP rights continued to increase prior to the onset of the global economic crisis, with 1.85 million patent (+3.7% increase over 2006), almost 3.3 million trademark (+1.6%) and approximately 0.62 million industrial design (+15.3%) applications filed worldwide in 2007. The report, _World Intellectual Property Indicators 2009_ points to a slowdown in in 2008, when the global economy headed south. However, WIPO Director General Dr. Francis Gurry is optimistic about the future, noting: "History has shown … that companies and countries which continue to invest in new products and innovation during times of economic recession will be ... best positioned to take advantage of the recovery, when it arrives."