EPO report: Large increase in the number of Polish patent applications in 2018
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The number of Polish patent applications filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) increased by nearly 20% in 2018; Polish number of applications growth rate was one of the largest in Europe, the EPO reported last week.
The report summarizing EPO activity published last week shows that the number of patent applications submitted to the EPO by Polish inventors, enterprises and research centres increased by 19.7% last year. The Polish rate of increase in the number of applications was one of the largest in Europe and far exceeded the average for 38 EPO Member States, which amounted to +3.8 percent.
In total, last year Polish applicants filed 534 patent applications with the EPO (446 applications in 2017). The motor of Polish patent activity were higher education institutions - to a greater extent than in most of the other European countries. The first place in the ranking of Polish applicants went to the Jagiellonian University with 12 patent applications, followed by Zakłady Farmaceutyczne Polpharma S.A. (6 applications), AGH UST (5 applications) and Gdańsk University of Technology and the Fakro Group (4 applications each).
Almost a quarter (24.2%) of applications came from Warsaw and the surrounding area. The next in terms of the number of patent applications were: Małopolska (16.9% of all applications), Pomerania (9.8%), Silesia (8.8%) and Lower Silesia (8.3%).
The vast majority of applications from Poland (71%) concerned various types of technologies, in particular transport, civil engineering and thermal processes (each of these sectors represented 7% of all Polish patent applications). 6 percent all applications concerned pharmaceutical products, and 5 percent each of: medical technologies, biotechnology and computer technologies.
The EPO President António Campinos said that in terms of patents, 2018 was again a very strong year for Poland. According to Campinos, strong growth for two years in a row allows to talk about a positive trend based on a two-digit growth in several key technology sectors. This is very good news, because industries that often use intellectual property rights, including patents, support the economy, especially in the context of employment, trade and growth stimulation. The contribution of academic institutions to patent activity in Poland is particularly evident, Campinos noted.
Overall, over 174 thousand European patent applications were submitted to the EPO last year - a 4.6 percent increase compared to 2017. The number of applications from China increased by 8.8 percent (which is the lowest result in five years). The top countries, from which applications were received, include the United States with 25 percent of the total number of applications, followed by Germany, Japan, France and China. The EPO recorded an increase in the number of patent applications from most European countries - with the exception of France and Finland.
Detailed statistical data and activity report for 2018 are available in the annual EPO report: www.epo.org/annual-report2018.
PAP - Science in Poland, Katarzyna Florencka
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