The Finns are an inventive bunch
Private individuals behind one in four patent applications
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By Tuomas Niskakangas
Finland is at the top of international comparisons in per capita patent applications.
As a patent is formal recognition of new and beneficial technical knowledge, the statistics also indicate good results in corporate research and development activities.
High-tech inventions are a particular speciality for Finland.
On a per-capita basis, Finns are the most active nation in submitting high-tech patent applications to the European Patent Office. Other productive inventor nations are the Dutch, the Swiss, and the Swedes.
According to Jouni Hynynen of the Employment and Economic Develpment Centre of Central Finland, Finland and Sweden are also leading countries in combined inventiveness in all fields, if defence innovations - such as Israeli military inventions - are excluded.
The number of patent applications has declined slightly in recent years. In 2006 a total of 2018 applications were made with the National Board of Patents and Registration (NBPR).
Kristiina Grönlund, head of the NBPR's Patent Library and Advice Services Unit, says that the reason why the number of patents has declined is that Finnish companies operating internationally do not necessarily apply for patents in Finland.
There is no specific patent for the European Union, but a European patent does exist. In addition to EU countries, it protects inventions in a number of other European territories as well.
Hynynen says that the number of patent applications has declined after patent databases have become easily available to everyone over the Internet, thereby reducing the number of superfluous patents.
Three out of four patent applications in Finland are made by companies and organisations, and one in four come from private individuals.
A significantly smaller percentage of applications by private individuals are approved by the NBPR than those submitted by corporations.
The most common patent applications submitted in Finland are ones involving working methods and transport.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 29.8.2007
More on this subject:
 Finnish inventors step up and show off proposed innovations
TUOMAS NISKAKANGAS / Helsingin Sanomat
tuomas.niskakangas@hs.fi
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