Last year NPO received 1,805 patent applications. That’s an increase of 15 percent compared to the year before.
The number of applications has varied somewhat in recent years, but are now on a par with 2010, according to Statistics Norway (SSB).
The largest increase is due to international applicants who in 2015 accounted for 36 percent of all applications. This proportion was much greater before Norway joined the European Patent Organisation in 2008. Until then around three out of four last of the applications were made by people in this gorup. The new scheme has resulted in far more international applicants using the international patent application PCT procedure instead of applying directly to the Patent Office.
The number of applications made by Norwegians also increased last year. Three quarters of the those applications were from enterprises and businesses, while the rest was made by individuals, with or without a registered enterprises.
The number of trademark applications increased by 7.5 percent in 2015. The increased came primarily from international applicants who chose to make their trademark valid in Norway but Norwegian applicants also contributed to the growth.
Last year 22 percent of all applications were from Norwegian enterprises and businesses.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
