Patent applications by companies in the field of life sciences
Press release from KLAK
The Intellectual Property Office released a report on patent applications Icelandic life sciences companies, which was presented at a health technology cluster meeting in early February.
IN Report It is stated that 63% of all patent applications Icelandic life sciences companies in Europe and the USA over the past 11 years are from Össur. This is reflected in a new report by the Intellectual Property Office on patent applications Icelandic life sciences companies that was presented at the Health Technology Cluster this morning.
The findings of the report show that if you look broadly across the field, Icelandic life sciences companies do well to protect inventions through patent applications internationally. The number of foreign applications Icelandic companies has remained relatively stable in recent years, although there are indications that they are decreasing rather than the other. A closer look at the data reveals that Iceland’s good position is primarily due to a large number of applications from one company, Össur. If you look at the number of patent applications in sectors other than health technology, i.e. pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and food science, there are rather few applications from Iceland compared to the comparison countries. The results therefore provide evidence that Icelandic life sciences companies need to pay more attention to patent protection and that there is an opportunity for advancement in the field of life sciences in general in Iceland. It should, however, be stipulated that in Iceland powerful life sciences companies operate which, by the nature of their activities, do not apply much for patents.
Borghildur Erlingsdóttir, CEO of The Icelandic Intellectual Property Office, says that it is desirable for Iceland to strengthen the life sciences sector, as it is a high-tech industry that generates great value and pays good wages. “Denmark has long worked systematically to develop this area, including through public policies that have yielded positive results. Exports of Danish companies in this field tripled, for example, in ten years, from 2010-2019. It is now working on a new life science policy and a clear intellectual property policy. In this country, there are good conditions to follow in Denmark’s footsteps and make life sciences a mainstay of the Icelandic economy. This requires, inter alia, careful attention to the protection of intellectual property rights and may require increased public support for patent applications by SMEs.”
The report summarizes the number of Icelandic of life sciences patent applications to the European Patent Office EPO and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office USPTO 2010-2021. Applications from companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, health technology and food sciences sectors are examined and the number of applications is compared with the number of applications from Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Swiss, US and Chinese companies in the same sectors. The report is modelled on a Danish report published by the Danish Intellectual Property Office in 2020.
The role of the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office is to deal with matters concerning patents, trademarks, design protection, building marks and other similar rights provided for in laws, regulations and international agreements on the protection of industrial property rights. The Institute provides information and advice to individuals, institutions and companies regarding industrial property rights and works to make new technologies and knowledge inherent in registered intellectual property rights available to the public. The Icelandic Intellectual Property Office is under the auspices of the new Ministry of Universities, Innovation and Industry.
Originally published on 3 February
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