Poland rises in innovation rankings – Patent Office

According to Bloomberg, Poland has improved its innovation ranking in 2016. The president of Poland’s Patent Office, Alicja Adamczak, outlined the importance of companies obtaining patents in contributing to this rise at a conference at the national office on Wednesday. During the conference, it was reported that West Pomeranian University of Technology had received the most patents for inventions – a total of 117 granted – in 2016. Wrocław’s University of Technology was not far behind, as it had been granted 105 inventions. “Patents provide knowledge that allows you to be creative, economically-efficient and draw benefit from it. With this knowledge, successful companies will ensure the welfare of society,” said Adamczak. She elaborated on the process involved and emphasized the degree to which consistent and reliable monitoring of patent applications, worldwide, was important for Poland’s innovators. “Protecting new inventions [by] using patents is only possible on the basis of what has already occurred in the economy, what has been already reported in the patent offices around the world. [We must observe] what has been approved, and those that have been rejected. Hence, the need for constant access to databases, tracking them and drawing the right conclusions from them,” added Adamczak. In terms of long-term success in obtaining patents for new products and inventions, Wrocław University of Technology has been granted 1,193 patents since 2008. The Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Kraków had been granted 693 patents and protection rights, while in third place was the Technical University of Łódź, with 532. The President of the Office noted that Poland had risen from 23rd to 22nd place in the January rankings of the most innovative countries in the world, according to the annual rankings listed by Bloomberg.