BERLIN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of patent applications filed by independent inventors in Germany who do not work for a company or are not affiliated with a research organization declined by eight percent in 2018, the country's Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) said on Friday.
In light of this decline, it is "particularly important to keep an eye" on these inventors, DPMA President Cornelia Rudloff-Schaeffer said.
According to the DPMA, only 2,800 of the 68,000 patent applications filed in Germany in 2018 came from independent inventors. Almost 40 percent of these applications were related to the mechanical engineering industry.
Only seven percent of independent inventors applying for patents in Germany were women, the DPMA noted. The share of all female inventors (including those working at companies and research organizations) applying for patents in Germany was 5.8 percent in 2018.
"Independent inventors often have a tough time on the market, but they are still an important part of our innovation landscape," Rudloff-Schaeffer said.
According to the DPMA, almost a quarter of all patent applications submitted by independent inventors were registered in the federal state of Bavaria.
The DPMA also said that the number of patent applications in 2018 remained "high" compared to the previous three years. Enditem
