Annual Technical Report on Patent Information Activities in 2025 submitted by Intellectual Property Office of Ireland

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I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN PATENT INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Outline of main policies and plans aimed at development of patent information activities and expected time frames for their realization
• New projects launched or resumed this year in the context of the policies and plans mentioned above, short description:  aims, partners, tasks
• Main areas of patent information activities and related information and communication technology (ICT) practices which were in the focus of attention last year
• Statistics:  changes in terms of application filings and grants with respect to previous year;  trends or areas experiencing rapid changes
• Other matters and useful links (URLs):  annual report of the Office, news page, statistics, etc.

In 2023 the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI) introduced its eight customer service plan Customer Service Action Plan 2023- 2025.  Each successive customer service plan reflects changes in the way the Office operates as well as changes and improvements to the services which the Office makes available to its customers.  It covers Operational & Customer Service excellence; Information Services Excellent;  Supporting a robust IP legal framework and Staff & Workplace excellence.

The IPOI is committed to constantly reviewing its administrative procedures and delivering a responsive quality service in line with performance targets. The IPOI’s Customer Service Action Plan 2023-2025 outlines key service targets and defines optimal timeframes for completing various internal and external customer-related tasks.

2025 Targets

Promotion of IP Activities

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Overall European patent applications filed by Irish resident companies increased by 5.5% in 2025 as compared to 2024. A total of 1,179 applications filed in 2025 means that Ireland is now ranked in 10th place in terms of European patent applications per million of inhabitants.

A total of 591 patent applications were received in 2025, which is a 24% decrease over the corresponding 2024 figure. The number of patents granted in 2025 was the same as 2024, 110. At the end of 2025, there were 1,135 pending patent applications on hand, which is a 10% decrease over the 2024 figure of 1,260. Ending 2025, there were 606 applications awaiting the submission of evidence of novelty, up from the 2024 figure of 386. The number of applications received from applicants in the State was 379 compared with 153 in 2024. The number of applications received from applicants in the State was 182 compared with 22 in 2016.

The IPOI acts as a receiving office for European (EP) applications and also for applications filed under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT). The number of EP applications filed in 2025 was 12.   The number of PCT applications filed decreased from 23 in 2016 to 15 in 2025.

The number of European patent applications filed with the EPO in 2025 and designating Ireland was 201,974 an increase on the 2014 figure of 1%.

Other general patent statistics include:

National applications were filed in the following technical fields in 2025, according to the classes of the International Patent Classification (IPC):

A total of 48 requests for Supplementary Protection Certificates were received during the year under the European Communities (Supplementary Protection Certificates) Regulations, 1992 (medicinal) and 1996 (plant protection products).  During the year, 15 certificates were granted (medicinal and plant protection), 3 were rejected and 9 requests were withdrawn.  At the end of the year there were 261 requests pending.

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Over the past 2 years, the IPOI has concentrated on increasing IPOI visibility through better use of social media and the creation of user focussed content, which included information campaigns targeted at specific sectors such as SMEs and students, with the aim of making IP accessible and relatable  To show how IP impacts on our lives, the Office regularly linked posts to topical events. The creation of an IPOI LinkedIn and Instagram page in 2023 was instrumental in improving IPOI visibility at national and international level.  Having expanded its presence on all its digital channels, the IPOI continues to increase the number of followers.  In 2025 by providing topical, relatable content, highlighting attendance at events and running targeted information campaigns aimed at SMEs and students. LinkedIn followers increased by 40.5% during the year, gaining 495 followers.

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

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The Irish national patent register may be searched by application or grant number at: https://eregister.ipoi.gov.ie/PTRegNr.aspx

The Irish national patent register may also be searched over several fields such as: title/abstract; application, grant or priority number; application date range; grant date range; legal status; IPC; inventor name; applicant name; https://eregister.ipoi.gov.ie/query/PTQuery.aspx

Classification², preclassification³(if applicable), reclassification⁴activities; classification systems used (e.g., International Patent Classification (IPC)); matters concerning indexing of patent information.

All patent applications are classified, to main group level, according to the latest edition of the IPC 2025.01. The IPOI applies the latest edition of the IPC to all its published documents. No indexing schemes are used in the Office.

Reclassification is done on an application-by-application basis by the examiners.

Abstracting, reviewing, and translation of the information contained in patent documents

All abstracts are submitted in English by applicants and are checked and modified, if necessary, by the patent examiners.

Other activities

None to report.

III. SOURCES OF PATENT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

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Other sources
Nothing to report.

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO PATENT INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

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See entry in relation to internal databases.

Other matters
Nothing to report.

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF PATENT INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

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Education and training: training courses, e-learning modules (URLs), seminars, exhibitions, etc.

The Office engaged in IP awareness raising activities at various business information and enterprise exhibitions throughout the country, including the National Ploughing Championships and at the Future IP Europe. Additionally, the office attended the Local Enterprise Office Exhibition and National Women’s Enterprise Day.

The Office also held 8 IP clinics in 2025, which give an opportunity to the public, inventors, entrepreneurs and business people to discuss on a one -to-one basis with the Intellectual Property Office staff, matters concerning IP applications they intend to make or have already made to the Office. This approach has been found to be very helpful in providing basic guidance on procedures and forms required for the registration of IP rights, the processes of obtaining IP protection in Ireland or abroad. Assistance in constructing a do-it-yourself search strategy for patents and accessing and using online patent databases is also provided.

A significant part of the Office’s IP awareness raising efforts is directed at second level students through involvement with the annual Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, wherein the Office continues its sponsorship of an award to the student whose project best demonstrated the use of technology in new or improved applications, enhanced efficiencies and novel innovations.

The Office also participates in ‘The Student Enterprise Awards’ run by the Local Enterprise Boards is the biggest enterprise competition for second level students in Ireland with some 33,000 potential participants. The National Finals took place in May 2025. The Office sponsors awards for the best Intellectual Property Report in each of the Senior, Intermediate and Junior categories.  This allow for specific focus on the day but also raises awareness by the student to the importance of IP in protecting their products.  The competition provides an excellent vehicle for the Office to engage with second level student entrepreneurs to reflect an awareness of IP when developing a business idea and establishing and running a successful enterprise. The SEA workbook has now incorporated a new chapter specifically relating to Intellectual Property, thus reinforcing awareness of IP amongst second level students.

Through the nationwide IP In Education programme, the Office has continued the process of playing a significant role in embedding the importance of IP across the student cohort.  Presentations on IP have been provided at 59 schools in 2025.  The IPOIs collaboration with the Student Enterprise Programme (SEP) in the nationwide rollout of the scheme was key to gaining traction for the programme at a national level.

Other activities
Nothing to report

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF PATENT INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

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Other activities
Nothing further to report.

VII. ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WIPO STANDARDS CONCERNING PATENT INFORMATION

Note:  For each Standard listed below, please enter one of the following values: 

• "Fully implemented"
• “Partially implemented”
• "On implementation phase"
• "Planning to implement"
• “On assessment phase”
• "No plan to implement"

Implementation Status Definitions

"Fully implemented"

The WIPO Standard has been implemented in a manner compliant or compatible with the Standard.

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WIPO Standard ST.97:  Recommendation for processing of intellectual property data using JSON

VIII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

Please include any other relevant information here.

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