The University of Minho is the Portuguese entity with the most patent applications, according to the “Barometer Inventa – Patents Made in Portugal 2020”. The result reinforces the role of this academy as one of the main drivers of innovation in the country and its strong link to the economic and social fabric. The ranking drawn up by Inventa International is led by UMinho, with 44 applications for “patent families” in 2019, followed by the University of Porto (32) and Novadelta (28).
This list aggregates the registrations that have been filed with the National Industrial Property Office (INPI), the European Patent Office, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Chinese Patent Office.
The top 20 of the “Inventa Barometer” includes 11 higher education institutions, which highlights their importance in national innovation. This document also shows that last year the European Patent Office registered 272 Portuguese patent applications (23% more than in 2018), 46% of which came from the Northern region.
The University of Minho’s leadership in patent applications is corroborated by INPI’s Annual Statistics Report for 2019, published in April 2020, which also places Minho’s academy at the top of the Portuguese higher education institutions with the highest number of patent applications (institution as first applicant or co-applicant).
According to the 2019 Activities Report of the School of Engineering, 12 patents were granted last year to 4 EEUM Research Centres, namely, Biological Engineering Centre (1 patent), Electromechanical Microsystems Centre (4 patents), Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Centre (1 patent), Polymers and Composites Institute (6 patents). There were also 5 utility models, 3 of which at national level and 2 at European level.
Access the full Inventa 2020 – Made in Portugal Patents Barometer here.