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Statistics around patents, trademarks and Co.
Eleven percent of all network-related international patent families come from Germany
Germany generated eleven percent of all grid-related international patent families (IPFs) worldwide between 2011 and 2022. This corresponds to half of the patent activity of the entire European Union and shows Germany's central role in innovations in the field of electricity grids. Germany was particularly strong in physical grid technologies, where it accounted for 14 percent of global IPFs, and in smart grids with ten percent. This is the result of a new study by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), more information on the 
page of the European Patent Office.
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More numbers of the month
German universities are the frontrunners in Europe: 24.1 per cent of all academic patents in Europe that were registered with the European Patent Office (EPO) between 2000 and 2020 originate from Germany. This corresponds to 25,822 patent applications and shows the central role of German science in the innovation landscape. Overall, academic patents now account for 10.2 percent of all applications of European origin filed with the EPO - a significant increase over the last two decades, as a study by the European Patent Office (EPO) with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) shows.
German universities lead the way in European patent applications (in German)
This year we are celebrating 130 years of trademark protection. The “Law for the Protection of Trade Marks” from 1894 laid the foundation for modern trade mark protection as we know it today. Together with Germany's number 1 trademark - “Perkeo” - around 895,000 German trademarks are currently valid.
130 years of trade mark protection in Germany
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently published the Global Innovation Index 2024. Germany was ranked 9th out of 133 economies assessed - and thus fell slightly by one place compared to the last two years. In view of this, DPMA President Eva Schewior has called for more dynamism in securing Germany's innovative capacity. “The Global Innovation Index currently confirms that Germany still has a strong and very effective innovation system,” said the DPMA President. “However, the study also clearly shows that we have difficulties with the digital transformation of the economy and society. If we lose touch here, our ability to innovate will suffer considerably. The consequence would be a significant decline in our social prosperity.”
Press Release
The "unbreakable" RG 28 kitchen appliance, mopeds from Suhl and the "Erika" typewriter - these GDR design classics and many more can now be searched online. The Landespatentzentrum Thüringen ("PATON") at Ilmenau University of Technology has digitized the GDR's design collection as part of the DFG project "Indexing and Digitization of the GDR's Design Treasure". These IP documents are now available in our DPMAregister database, where a total of 14,270 GDR designs can be searched.
Search in DPMAregister
On the occasion of this summer's major sporting events, the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has launched the “Play fair” campaign, which we at the DPMA support. After all, the trade in counterfeit sports goods has serious consequences: According to EUIPO calculations, the damage across the EU amounts to a total of 850 million euros per year - equivalent to 11 percent of the industry's total turnover. In addition to loss of sales and the destruction of jobs, inferior copies also damage brand value.
"Play Fair Campaign"
In 2018, we launched the electronic dispatch of documents in IP procedures with DPMAdirekt. This removed the media discontinuity in communication between the DPMA and its applicants. Since then, more than one million "dispatch packages" (office actions and letters) with the electronic IP application have already been sent to users by secure electronic means. To date, the DPMA has reduced the number of printed pages by 35 per cent. And despite rising postage costs, these have also been reduced considerably.
If you look at the ecological balance sheet, you can see that several tonnes of wood, millions of litres of fresh water and energy have been saved that would have been required for material production and transport. Overall, CO2 emissions have been avoided. As a user of our services, you decide whether you would like to receive your mail conventionally by post or electronically after registering. We are pleased that we have been able to contribute to a "greener public authority" together with you.
E-filing of IP applications
The total damage caused to the German mechanical and plant engineering industry by product and brand piracy amounts to 4.1 billion euros per year, compared to 6.4 billion euros two years ago. Every two years, the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) examines the effects of product piracy and counterfeiting, with a positive trend emerging. Two years ago, 72 percent of respondents reported being affected by illegal replicas, copies or other counterfeits, whereas now the figure is 46 percent. According to the , this decline is due to the increased efforts and activities of companies against product and brand piracy. Despite this positive trend, almost every second company still suffers from product piracy. It therefore remains important for manufacturers and authors to take preventative measures and enforce their rights. Our new brochure “Enforcing intellectual property rights - counterfeiting, pirated copies, betrayed trade secrets: How to take action against it”.
Press release of 14 may 2024
After years of stagnation, innovation activity in the field of renewable energies has increased significantly again. Last year, 1,289 patent applications for solar technology, wind power and other renewable energy technologies with an impact on Germany were published - 18.6 per cent more than in the previous year. Solar technology made a particularly significant leap with an increase in applications of 32.7 per cent. The technology area had 597 applications, overtaking wind power (540, +2.3 per cent).
Press release of April 26, 2024
Innovation activity in the field of artificial intelligence has continued to gain momentum. In technology classes with a strong connection to AI, 40 percent more patent applications with an impact on Germany were published last year than five years ago. The growth was particularly strong in the core areas of AI, which include digital computing systems with special processing units, computing systems based on special computing models such as neural networks and associated learning methods. The number of applications here has more than tripled since 2019.
Press release of March 18, 2024
The statistics speak for themselves: women are still underrepresented in the natural sciences. In 2022, for example, only around 35% of first-year STEM students were women (source: ). This also has an impact on the proportion of women in patent examination at the DPMA: With 226 female patent examiners (out of a total of 1,076 people in this area), the proportion of women is still relatively low.
To make the natural sciences more female, the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science" takes place every year on February 11.
Website of the German Unesco Commission
In January, our "World of Design" series is all about light. We show "lamps, floor lamps, table lamps..." in a wide variety of colors and shapes. You can find out how many designs are in force in this product segment in our DPMAregister database. You will get almost 15,000 hits if you search for registered designs in subclass 26-05 of the Locarno classification.
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Pictures: DPMA
Last updated: 17 December 2024
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