German Patent Office
New patent record - more staff required
The number of inventions is increasing and putting pressure on the German Patent Office. This year, 68,000 new patents are expected to be registered, more than at any time since the end of the Second World War. However, the result of the urge to invent is a backlog of applications.
Since 2010, the number of ongoing patent procedures has risen by almost 60,000 to more than 208,000, as announced by the President of the Office, Cornelia Rudloff-Schäfer, at the end of October 2017. She is calling for more staff: the patent office needs "demand-oriented staffing" in order to be able to hire highly qualified engineers and scientists. New positions are essential in the interests of research and companies with strong development capabilities. The 'Handelsblatt' had previously reported on this.
As patent applications are expensive, the office makes a profit, unlike most other authorities: Rudloff-Schäfer expects a surplus of 175 million euros this year. A quarter of patent applications come from abroad.
This year, the 'transportation' sector is expected to take first place, driven by the automotive industry and suppliers. Last year there were 10,340 applications from this sector, and this year the authority's experts are expecting a significant increase. This also applies to two sub-sectors: both electromobility and autonomous driving are expected to see significantly more applications than last year.
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