Annual Statistical Report 2020

Results presented in this report [PPT in Portuguese] reinforce the content of the news published on our website on 03/02/2021 [in Portuguese], proving that in an untypical year marked by COVID19 pandemic the importance of protecting Industrial Property Rights was not forgotten. Combatting the devastating effects of the pandemic also meant reinventing and innovating.

Patents and Utility Models Rights deserve a special mention, with a 16.5% growth when compared to the number of requests for national Inventions submitted in 2019 (1.124 requests made in 2020 compared to the 965 requests submitted in 2019), which reveals a very positive and promising trend.

There was a slight drop of 0.3% in the number of national applications for Trademarks and other distinctive signs (21.502 requests made in 2020 compared to the 21.556 requests of 2019).

As concerns Design, there was also a decrease of 4.1% in the number of requests submitted and 14.3% in the number of objects included in these rights.

In 2020 were submitted 257 applications, corresponding to 1.764 objects for which protection was required, compared to 268 applications and 2,058 objects in 2019.

Taking into account the latest available data regarding European applications, there was a decrease of 3.9% in the number of requests for Community Design and 4.1% in the number of requests for European Union Trademarks originating in Portugal.

In 2020 were registered 717 applications for Community Design (746 in 2019) and 1.831 applications for European Union Trademarks (1.910 in 2019).

The number of European Patents validated in Portugal decreased by 8.7%. There were 5.922 validation requests submitted in 2019 and 5.404 requests in 2020.

In accordance with the most recent data, the number of International Patent applications originating in Portugal increased by 25.0%: from 200 applications in 2019 to 250 applications in 2020.

Regarding International Trademarks, there was a 20.1% decrease in the number of requests originating in Portugal (149 orders in 2019 to 119 orders in 2020), and 16.2% in the number of International trademark request that designate Portugal (from 1.848 requests in 2019 to 1.549 in 2020).

In 2020, INPI gathered, as receiver officer, 62 International Patent applications (54 filed in 2019) and 13 European Patent applications (18 in 2019). This translates into a growth of 14.8% and a decrease of 27.8%, respectively.

In 2020 were submitted 114 applications for International Trademarks, thus representing a decrease of 27.4% compared to the 157 applications submitted in 2019.

In 2020, INPI remained ON to enable Industrial Property System users to continue on protecting their rights. Even in pandemic times, innovation does not stop, and the 2020 figures are proof of that.

INPI keeps on making every effort to continue granting IP rights promptly, always maintaining the quality that characterises us. We ended the year 2020 with a feeling of mission accomplished (result of the combined efforts and the constant desire to overcome ourselves) and with total pride.

INPI is even prouder to know that, in accordance to the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), Portugal is for the first time part of the Group of Strong Innovators, among the most innovative countries in the European Union (EU), standing out as regards SMEs.