Portugal climbs 9 places in the European ‘ranking’ of patent applications
PPortugal rose nine positions in the European ‘ranking’ of patent applications between 2001 and 2020 and may “soon” surpass Luxembourg and the Czech Republic in this indicator, according to the ‘Barometer Inventa 2022 – Patents Made in Portugal’.
“Portugal rose nine positions in the ‘ranking’ [do 29.º para o 20.º lugar] when comparing the values of 2020 with the values of 2001, with a six-fold increase in the range evaluated”, points out the barometer, released today by the consultancy specializing in intellectual property Inventa.
As he adds, “despite the relatively low absolute number of patent applications [1.874 em 2020, contra 305 em 2001]Portugal has the highest growth rate, and it is expected that it will soon surpass Luxembourg and the Czech Republic in this indicator”.
According to the barometer, “the effects of the pandemic were also evident in these results, as most countries had a reduction in the number of patent applications filed in 2020 compared to 2019, in which in the case of Portugal the reduction was 12 .8%”.
Analyzing the period from 2002 to 2020, the growth in the total number of applications filed by Portuguese applicants at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) was 9.3%, while in patent applications filed by Portuguese applicants in the remaining jurisdictions (including the European Patent Office – EPO) the rise was 13.4%.
With regard to the patent offices most chosen by Portuguese applicants when they seek to internationalize their applications, there is “a strong interest in the European (EPO), North American (USA and Canada) and Asian (Japan, China or Korea) market do Sul), in addition to the expected interest in Brazil, which constitutes a very significant market”.
Available data show a growth of more than 20% for internationalizations in Japan and Canada, with the USA and EPO standing out as the international institutes that receive the most requests from Portugal in absolute terms.
Comparing the evolution of patent applications in the various countries of the world presented by applicants from Portugal and by applicants from the five main economies of the European Union (Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands), it appears that “Portugal presents, with a great difference, the highest growth rate in the filing of patent applications by national applicants (11.21%)”.
Even so, a more cautious analysis demonstrates that “the absolute value of the total number of patent applications filed from 2002 to 2020 (21,033) is still very low compared to the number of applications filed in different countries of the world by nationals of the five countries taken for Comparation”.
For example, the total number of patent applications originating in Germany exceeded three million (3,181,703), while in France it surpassed one million (1,195,977).
Already comparatively analyzing the growth in the number of patent concessions originating in Portugal and patent concessions from applicants originating in the five largest economies of the European Union by the various patent institutes in the world, it is concluded that, “although Portugal presents good results (30.20% and 6,352 patents) and continued growth in the number of grants over the last four years, the observed figures are far behind the top five EU economies”.
Italy leads the group of countries considered, with a growth of 72.65% for concessions, while, in absolute values, Germany stands out for having more than one and a half million patents granted over the granted period (2002 -2020).
“In absolute numbers and compared to other European economies, Portugal still has a long way to go”, concludes the barometer.
And he details that “Portugal has a high average annual growth rate in the filing of patent applications at patent offices abroad (13.4%), but the absolute value has remained low when compared to other European economies”, noting The same tendency is observed in relation to the granting of patents.
Inventa’s barometer also reveals that the number of patents originating in Portugal that remain valid in the country or abroad “continues to grow, having reached a growth of 11.49% in the number of concessions” and this rate being even higher for orders deposited abroad, with 14.54%.
As he explains, “the survival of patents over the years indicates an interest in exploiting the technologies described in them and this indicator demonstrates a better use of the patent system by applicants and, equally important, a materialized or expected economic return from inventions” .
An analysis of the filing of European patent applications at the EPO by Portuguese region reveals that “the North maintains leadership in European applications and in the percentage of total applications from 2019 to 2021, reaching 47% of applications during this period”.
“The Center region ranks next, with 21.7% of requests in the period evaluated and with a significant growth rate in requests filed in 2021”, notes the barometer.
Regarding the number of applications filed with the INPI, “a pattern similar to the results of the EPO is observed, with the North region maintaining leadership and a growth trend in the number of applications filed in the country”, attributed to “the greater concentration of Portuguese industrial fabric, and consequently, of the research and development activity”.
In turn, the total number of requests from the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon is higher than the Center region, while the Algarve has the lowest performance in mainland Portugal in relation to the percentage of requests deposited (2.1%), “in part influenced for its tourism-oriented economy”.
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