PATENTS, 2020

In 2020, the number of patent applications submitted to the State Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as: SIPO) amounted to 129, of which 117 were filed by resident and 12 by non-resident applicants. Out of the total number of applications submitted by resident applicants, 65.8% were submitted by natural persons and 34.2% by legal entities. Concerning the non-resident applicants, natural persons submitted 75% of applications and legal entities 25% of them.

The most applications related to mechanical engineering

As regards the fields of technology, the highest share of patent applications in 2020 related to Mechanical engineering (31.2%) and Chemistry (24.1%), while the lowest number related to Electrical engineering (11.4%).

The International Patent Classification (hereinafter referred to as: IPC) provides the identification of the technology base of patents as well as the sector in which they will probably be applied. According to the IPC codes, the highest share of patent applications in 2020 were recorded in section A Human necessities (28.7%) and the lowest one in section C Chemistry; metallurgy (5.4%), while in section D Textiles; paper, there were no patent applications.

In 2020, the total number of patents granted in the national procedure amounted to 67. Out of that number, there were 56 patents of resident and 11 of non-resident applicants. Out of the total number of patents granted in the national procedure, 80.4% were invented by natural persons and 19.4% by legal entities. Concerning the non-resident applicants, 90.9% of patents granted were invented by legal entities and 9.1% by individuals.

The most granted patents were related to chemistry

The highest share of granted patents in 2020 according to the field of technology was related to Chemistry (43.1%), followed by Mechanical engineering (28.4%), while the lowest one related to Instruments (4.6%).

According to the IPC codes, the highest share of granted patents in 2020 related to section A Human necessities (31.3%). The lowest share related to section G Physics (6.0%), while in section D Textiles; paper, there were no patents granted.

In 2020, there were 11 335 valid patents in the Republic of Croatia.

More than three quarters of patent applications and granted patents referred to resident applicants from the City of Zagreb and Adriatic Croatia

In 2020, out of the total number of patent applications of resident applicants, 41.0% were filed by applicants from the City of Zagreb and 37.6% by applicants from Adriatic Croatia.

Concerning granted patents in 2020, 42.9% of applicants came from Adriatic Croatia and 41.1% from the City of Zagreb.

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1) The chart data are recalculated for complete time series according to HR NUTS 2021 – HR NUTS 2 (NN, No. 125/19).

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1) The chart data are recalculated for complete time series according to HR NUTS 2021 – HR NUTS 2 (NN, No. 125/19).

 

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Data sources

The data are the result of the processing of data taken over from SIPO. It is a state administration body with responsibilities in the field of the protection of intellectual property rights. SIPO carries out procedures for granting industrial property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications and designations of origin, topographies of semiconductor products) and performs the accompanying professional and legislative activity.

The data have been compiled according to the defined set of tables and processed by applying the required methodology.

Objectives of the survey and coverage

The methodological basis for the implementation of the survey is the internationally acknowledged standard, which was set up and published in the OECD Patent Statistics Manual.

The patent statistics provide information on the success of the research, development and innovation activity in selected fields of technology. The number of patents is one of the measures of the inventive activity of a country that, in addition, displays the capacity to exploit the knowledge and translate it into potential economic gains. The International Patent Classification (IPC) enables the classification of patent applications and granted patents into the selected fields of technology. The patents are classified, according to the technical subject matter of the invention, into respective classes or subclasses. The Classification includes eight fields of technology (marked with letters A to H), broken down into subfields further divided into classes and subclasses.

The data presented in this First Release encompasses patent applications submitted to SIPO and patents granted by SIPO in the national.

The data are presented at the level of the Republic of Croatia, while G3 and G4 graphs present data for 5-year time series at the HR_NUTS 2021 – HR NUTS 2 level, according to the new Common Classification of Territorial Units for Statistics (HR_NUTS 2021; NN, No 125/19).

Definitions and explanations

The definitions covering the patent statistics area are based on the international methodology – the OECD Patent Statistics Manual 2009, issued by OECD, Paris, 2009.

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention that offers a new technical solution to a problem. It is granted for inventions related to a product, procedure or application. The patent provides the exclusive right to the owner to make, use, distribute or sell the invention protected by the patent during a limited, generally 20 years from the filing date of the application. On expiration of this time, the patent is made a public good, available for public use.

The patent does not protect an abstract concept but an actual technical solution to a problem. The basic conditions for every invention that have to be fulfilled for granting of the patent are that it is new, that it involves an inventive step and that it is eligible for industrial application (that is, practical industrial applicability).

Patents are a territorial right, which means that they are valid only in the territory of a country where they were granted. Patents are granted by an authorised body, on the basis of the examination of the patent application that describes the invention. The authorised body in the Republic of Croatia is SIPO.

The patent granting procedure is instituted by filing the patent application and carried out in line with the Patent Act and Patent Regulations. It consists of two main phases, the formal examination of the text of the application prior to its publication in the SIPO official gazette and the examination after the publication. The procedure may result in the grant of a patent for a proposed invention, provided that the prescribed requirements are complied with, or in the refusal of a request for the grant of a patent, if such requirements are not complied with.

The patent applications are for the purpose of this First Release counted in a year when they were submitted to the SIPO, while the granted applications are counted in a year when they were granted by the SIPO.

Consensual patent is a special form of the patent protection in the Republic of Croatia. Its main characteristic is that it is granted without a substantive examination of the patent application, that is, on the basis of the public consensus, if no opposition to the grant is filed. The term of the consensual patent is no more than ten years.

The definitions and explanations have been taken over from the web site of SIPO www.dziv.hr, where more information is available.

Abbreviations
HR_NUTS 2021.	common classification of territorial units for statistics 2021
OECD	Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Symbols
-	no occurrence

 

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Prepared by:
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