The IPOI publishes 2021 Annual Report
The Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI) is an independent statutory office under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Each year the Controller of the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland is obliged to prepare an Annual Report that provides information on the ongoing delivery of its strategic objectives and provides detailed business statistics on IPOI’s activities in relation to patents, trade marks, designs, and copyright matters.
In presenting his first Annual Report, Mr James Kelly, Controller of Intellectual Property attributed the successes and achievements of the Office during 2021.
“I wish to acknowledge the great work and dedication of the staff of the IPOI throughout 2021. This has again been a year of great challenge for the Office, as staff performed their tasks admirably working from home due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In addition, Mr Kelly highlighted the Office’s participation in many co-operation activities with its EU and international counterparts, he noted that this is designed to promote harmonisation across Intellectual Property Offices and will make things simpler, quicker, and more efficient for users of the Intellectual Property systems.
Highlights of the 2021 Annual Report include:
- Despite the impact of the pandemic, the majority of the IPOI’s customer service targets were met to a satisfactory level with 90% being the average rate of achievement.
- Operating remotely, the Information Centre dealt with over 4,200 emails and 4,000 telephone queries, an increase on 2020 figures.
- The Office participated in several online seminars in conjunction with the Local Enterprise Offices and exhibited at the virtual BT Young Scientist and Technology Expo.
- The number of national trade mark applications received showed a 12% increase over the 2020 figure.
- While the overall total number of national patent applications filed in 2021 showed a decrease of over 22% on 2020, the number of European Patent applications designating Ireland had an increase of 4.5% on 2020.
The 2021 Annual Report can be accessed on the IPOI website at the following links: