Compared to other countries, however, the development was positive. “We have thus moved up to fifth place in the EU (2020: 6) and tenth place worldwide (2020: 11),” said Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) in the broadcast. There were also fewer patent applications in the Austrian patent office. Advice and trademark protection, on the other hand, were in high demand. 2,480 inventions were registered with the domestic patent office last year. Large companies recovered quickly after the Corona kink, while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) fell behind. A survey by the Patent Office, which was carried out together with Joanneum Research, also paints this picture: although SMEs continued to research even during the crisis, registering patents was not a priority.
The largest domestic patent applicants in 2021 were the Graz-based automotive supplier AVL List (205 patents), the producer of furniture fittings Julius Blum (70) and the Vorarlberg lighting manufacturer Zumtobel (34).
Upper Austria at the top nationwide
Despite a significant drop of around 12 percent, Upper Austria again leads the ranking of the federal states with 561 patents, followed by Styria (490) and Vienna (372). Measured against the number of inhabitants, Vorarlberg has the most inventions.
In an EU comparison, Austria does particularly well in the “Plastics”, “Semiconductors”, “Electronics” and “Furniture” sectors.
Gewessler was also pleased about the high number of climate protection patents in the broadcast. “In green building technologies, we are even European champions and second worldwide. Austria is also above the EU average for patent applications in climate-friendly transport technologies and wastewater treatment and recycling,” said the climate protection minister.
Meanwhile, Austrian inventors only partially (19.3%) register their patents in Austria. The USA was chosen for 21 percent of the patents, European patents accounted for 20.9 percent.
The Patent Office wants to support SMEs and start-ups this year with discounts. They should pay 50 percent less for national patents (275 euros per patent) and 75 percent less for trademarks (71 euros). “The funding campaign is valid all year round,” says Patent Office President Mariana Karepova.
Source: Nachrichten
