5 March 2026 Austria is inventing significantly more again Patent office records increase in applications

The figures from the Austrian Patent Office for 2025 show a positive trend. There has been a particularly sharp increase in the trademark sector. However, the number of inventions is also higher than in 2024.

Austria's innovation landscape is on an upward trend: after a slight decline in 2024, more inventions were registered again in 2025; trademark registrations saw their first increase since 2021. This is shown in the latest annual report from the Austrian Patent Office, which was published today at 2025.patentamt.at.

A total of 2,272 invention applications (patents and utility models) were filed with the Austrian Patent Office – an increase of 4.4% compared to 2024. The increase is even more pronounced for trademarks: 5,022 trademark applications represent a 13% increase over the previous year.

Peter Hanke, Federal Minister for Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure: "These figures are an extremely positive signal for the business location. They show that the innovative strength of Austrians is not only unbroken, but even on the rise. With its expertise and services, the Austrian Patent Office makes a significant contribution to turning good ideas into protected innovations that can compete in the market. After all, intellectual property is a key success factor for companies."

Stefan Harasek, President of the Austrian Patent Office: "The significant upturn in both inventions and trademarks gives us cause for optimism – and it shows that, despite the challenging economic situation, small and medium-sized enterprises in particular are increasingly recognizing the value of their intellectual property and protecting patents and trademarks as important competitive assets. In order to provide the best possible support to all creative and innovative minds in Austria, we are constantly optimizing and modernizing our range of services.

Most invention applications come from Upper Austria

The most inventive federal state in 2025 was once again Upper Austria with 496 inventions, followed by Styria (435 inventions) and Vienna (428 inventions). In terms of inventions per capita, Vorarlberg ranks first. 

As in previous years, the Styrian company AVL List is the largest single patent applicant with 179 registered inventions. Julius Blum GmbH ranks second with 105 inventions, followed by Siemens Mobility Austria with 32 inventions. 

With the Vienna University of Technology (25 applications, fifth place in the ranking), a university was also among the top individual applicants in 2025. The Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) is the most active non-university research institution in terms of intellectual property, with 12 registered inventions.

2025 – a year of strong brands

With 5,022 trademark applications, the 5,000 mark was exceeded last year for the first time since 2021. Compared to the previous year, the Patent Office recorded an increase of 13% in this area. In addition, the EU trademark is becoming increasingly popular in Austria: in 2025, Austrian applicants submitted 4,095 EU trademarks to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) – an increase of 15.5% compared to 2024 and ranking 7th among all EU countries.

The number of international trademark applications by Austrians has also risen again compared to 2024. International trademark protection was applied for 4,799 times from Austria via the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Conversely, 1,567 international trademark applicants sought protection in Austria.

The Austrian Patent Office also recorded growth in services: for the first time, more than 1,000 invention services were used in a single year. These range from low-threshold consulting services such as IP Buddy for schoolchildren and students to research services such as the invention check and special offers for SMEs such as Patent.Scheck. Trademark services such as the Pre Check Marke and trademark similarity searches are also becoming increasingly popular: 738 trademark services in 2025 also set a new record.