The number of Danish patent applications increased last year by 5.2 percent compared to the previous year. This places Denmark in fourth place on the list of European countries with the most patent applications per million inhabitants.
Only Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are higher. This is according to a statement from the European Patent Office (EPO), which will be published on Tuesday. The EPO is a joint European authority that issues patents that can cover up to 45 countries.
Overall, Danish researchers and companies filed 2,672 applications last year, compared to 2,539 the year before.
First place among Danish patent applicants is taken by the biotech company Novonesis, which manufactures enzymes and microorganisms for industries worldwide. In second place is the wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, and in third place is the engineering company Topsoe.
DTU is the most patent-seeking university in Europe
In fourth place is the Technical University of Denmark - DTU - which filed 113 patent applications last year. This makes the Danish university the most patent-seeking university in Europe - ahead of Oxford University, for example. DTU Rector Anders Bjarklev says that this is the result of a conscious effort.
- I think we have reached this point because for more than a decade we have worked purposefully to identify and - when possible - protect the inventions and knowledge that our employees have created, he says.
According to the Rector, the university places emphasis on "converting the university's knowledge and work into real jobs".
- We try to bring together some good people to help and assist the researchers who come up with the good ideas, so that they feel helped. And then we look at how we can put the ideas into play in relation to existing companies or start-ups of new companies based on the ideas that are wanted to be patented, says Anders Bjarklev.
On the top 20 list of the most patent-seeking European universities, the University of Copenhagen ranks 8th with 48 patent applications last year. Aarhus University ranks 9th on the list with 43 applications to the European Patent Office.
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