PATENTS, 2023

In 2023, the number of patent applications submitted to the State Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as: SIPO) amounted to 171, of which 164 were filed by resident and seven by non-resident applicants. Out of the total resident applicants, 29.9% were submitted by natural persons and 70.1% by legal entities. Among the non-resident applicants, the share of natural persons was 14.3% and the share of legal entities was 85.7% of applications.

The most applications related to Chemistry

As regards the fields of technology, the highest share of patent applications in 2023 related to Chemistry (32.2%) and Electrical engineering (22.6%), while the lowest number related to Other fields (8.8%).

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 2023 was recorded in section A Human necessities (22.9%) and the lowest one in section D Textiles, paper (0.6%).

In 2023, there were four patents granted in the national procedure. Out of that number, there were three patents of resident and one of non-resident applicants. Out of the total number of patents granted in the national procedure, all three of them were invented by legal entities. Concerning the non-resident applicants, the only patent granted was invented by legal entities.

The most granted patents also related to Chemistry

The highest share of granted patents in 2023 according to the field of technology related to Chemistry (50.0%), followed by Mechanical engineering (28.6%) and Electrical engineering (21.4%).

According to the IPC codes, the highest share of granted patents in 2023 related to section A Human necessities (75.0%) and the lowest share related to section H Electricity (25.0%), while in other sections there were no granted patents.

In 2023, there were 13 004 valid patents in the Republic of Croatia.

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

In 2023, out of the total number of patent applications of resident applicants, 40.9% were filed by applicants from the City of Zagreb and 36.6% from Adriatic Croatia.

Concerning granted patents in 2023, there were 66.7% of applicants that came from North Croatia and 33.3% that came from the City of Zagreb.

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 procedure.

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 period of time, 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.

Utility model is a form of invention protection that is registered without a substantive examination procedure of the patentability condition. The utility model can only protect products that are not in the field of biotechnology and that are not chemical or pharmaceutical substances. In addition, inventions whose commercial exploitation would be contrary to public policy or morality cannot be protected. Utility model lasts for 10 years, counting from the date of filing the application.

The process of registering a utility model is faster, cheaper and more suitable for simpler inventions and for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises compared to granting a patent.

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

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80
Phone: (+385 1) 48 06 111
Press corner: press@dzs.hr

Persons responsible:
Milenka Primorac Čačić, Director of Business Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Director General

Prepared by:
Matija Škegro Vdović and Vesna Furjan

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