International demand for German intellectual property rights is increasing, according to figures released by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) on February 27. The number of German patent applications filed from abroad rose to 21,286 in 2018, an increase of 7% from 2017. Compared to six years ago, 2018 saw 35% more foreign patent applications and 55% more foreign trademark applications, according to DPMA. The number of foreign trademark applications in Germany rose to 4,863 in 2018. The increase of almost 6% was mostly driven by China, which filed 1,564 applications with DPMA. The discipline of electrical engineering, which entails electrical machines, appliances and energy, saw a considerable growth of 6.8% in patent and trademark applications. The DPMA mainly attributed this to a growing number of applications for software-based inventions, including the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI). The growth in intellectual property applications in the field of AI will likely continue as the German government is planning to make 3 billion euros available by 2025 for research and development in artificial intelligence. The German government has adopted a framework paper focused on the goal of making Germany "a leading location worldwide for AI".

Source: xinhua