Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2004
122 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of patents registered in the Patents Office each year from 1997 to date; the measures in place to encourage inventiveness and the registration of patents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33937/04]
View answerThe Patents Office has provided me with the following table on the numbers of patents registered each year from 1997 to date.
|
National Patents |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 to 30.11.04 |
|
20 year term |
1,176 |
344 |
172 |
298 |
249 |
156 |
360 |
288 |
|
Short term (ten years) |
229 |
250 |
148 |
158 |
302 |
461 |
221 |
162 |
|
Total |
1,405 |
594 |
320 |
456 |
551 |
617 |
581 |
450 |
|
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 to 30/09/04 |
|
|
Granted European Patents designating Ireland* |
5,485 |
6,518 |
6,968 |
5,916 |
7,922 |
13,573 |
21,843 |
19,047 |
*These patents, granted by the European Patents Office, Munich, have been entered in the national register of patents and have the same legal status in Ireland as if they had been granted by the Patents Office.
Information on the numbers of patents granted is published each year in the annual report of the Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. The Irish Council for Science and Technology, ICSTI, in its statement on commercialisation of publicly funded research in February 2001 made specific recommendations on increasing resources for industry-research liaison, encouraging commercialisation and increasing early stage funding for research with commercial potential. ICSTI has since published a code of practice directed at encouraging research performing bodies to introduce systems and procedures to ensure research results are protected and exploited effectively.
A number of actions have been undertaken by Enterprise Ireland to develop and enhance the commercialisation of valuable research which has been undertaken for the ultimate benefit of the economy. It has taken a lead with other funding agencies to ensure best practice commercialisation provisions are included in research funding contracts. Enterprise Ireland offers financial and expert advisory resources to support industrial liaison or commercialisation offices within third level institutions. It also provides advisory and financial support to third level institutions and companies on the protection, development and commercialisation of inventions, including funding for patent applications. Enterprise Ireland was also recently one of the sponsors of an intellectual property advisory booklet produced by the Irish Exporters Association and participated in workshops run by the association.
While the principal statutory role of the Patents Office is the grant of rights in the fields of patents, trade marks and designs, the office also seeks to raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property rights through the dissemination of information on these areas, principally via its website, www.patentsoffice.ie. The office also seeks to encourage use of the patents system through the production of guides and booklets on paper and on CD-ROM dealing with the acquisition of patent rights in Ireland, Europe and throughout the world.
