Irish Patents Office Release Annual Report
According to the recently published Annual Report from the Irish Patents Office national full-term patent filings received in 2017 decreased by 7% compared to 2016, while national trade mark applications increased by 2%. The Office which is responsible for the grant and registration of Intellectual Property rights in Ireland have laid out their findings for Intellectual Property activity in 2017, along with outlining their continued business strategy for 2018 and the uncertainty Brexit brings to the Intellectual Property landscape.
Key findings found in the Report
Both the number of national and international trade mark applications received by the Irish Patents Office increased during 2017. By the end of that year there was over 58,000 national registered trade-marks and over 20,000 international trade marks in force in Ireland.
National full-term patent applications received by the office fell to 137 from 149 in 2016, while short term patent applications received fell from 138 to 131. The number of patents in force by the end of 2017 were 169,453, a significant increase to the 147,125 in force by the end of 2016. While figures for 2018 will not be released until next year, early indications show an increase in the number of patent applications received by the Office so far for 2018
Industrial Design registration applications fell to 65 in 2017 as opposed to 80 in 2016, while the number of industrial designs in force by the end of the year slightly increased to 1,140.
You can read the full report released by the Irish Patent Office here.
Continued Plans for 2018
As part of their report the Irish Patents Office have also reiterated their Strategy Statement for 2017-2019. It includes their continuation to contribute to the Irish Intellectual Property legal framework and related policies, continue to promote awareness of Intellectual Property with SME’s and students and continued co-operation with EU and International Intellectual Property systems.
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