INNOVATION » JUNE 2016 61 T he annual results for 2015 show that European patent applications (applications for which companies applied for a European patent at the EPO) have increased signi f icantly: They reached the 160,000-mark (2014: 152,700, + 4.8 percent). The number of European patent applications from Austria increased by 1.4 percent to 1,992 (from 1,964 in 2014). This means that Austria is in 10th place in the European ranking and, just like last year, in 14th place worldwide. When it comes to the number of applications in relation to population sizes, Austria comes in at 7th place with 230 applications per million inhabitants, which is clearly an above-average result among the EU’s 28 countries. Switzerland is in the lead in this ranking, followed by the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Germany. The total number of applications from EPO’s member states in 2015 was virtually stable (+ 0.7 %), even though southern European countries like Italy, Spain, and Portugal were able to improve their numbers. On an international scale, companies from the USA and China grew particularly strongly. “The strong increase of European patent applications once again illustrates Europe’s role as an attractive technology market and innovation location for inventors from around the world,” says EPO’s president Benoît Battistelli. “It also refl ects companies’ and inventors’ interest in top-quality patent protection for the European market.” Battistelli continues: “Despite the impressive increase of non-European applications, European companies confi rmed their positive results with their patent applications in other regions as well. This highlights the innovative potential of the European economy.” PATENTS ARE CRUCIAL FOR ECONOMIC SUCCESS Previous economic factors of success – raw materials, affordable transport routes, low labour costs – become increasingly less important. Know-how that can be produced like a product or service moves to the forefront. Therefore the issue of intellectual property becomes ever more important. Its protection is a location factor in highly developed national economies. The Austrian Institute of Economic Research came to the same conclusion. WIFO’s latest numbers show that wealthy EU countries (measured by their GDP per capita) apply for signifi cantly more patents than those with lower incomes per capita. Almost half of all Austrian applicants at the EPO patent their inventions at the Austrian patent offi ce fi rst. They benefi t from the patent examiners’ know-how and can therefore better assess their chances in Europe. MANY HEADS, ONE MISSION With almost 10,000 applications and a fi ve percent increase in innovations, the Austrian patent offi ce reported an encouraging result for 2015. Gerald Klug, Minister of Technology, and Mariana Karepova, President of the Patent Offi ce, announced Patents protect new technical solutions, which are based on inventive achievements and are industrially applicable. It is important to me that companies of any size – from small start-ups to big industrial enterprises – can gain a foothold in new markets due to the individual consulting services of the Patent Offi ce. Thereby the Patent Offi ce becomes the gateway into the world. GERALD KLUG, FEDERAL MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT, INNOVATION, AND TECHNOLOGY
NEW BUSINESS - EXPORT TODAY 1/2016
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