Vienna and Budapest as Centres for R&D

As an internationally recognised PCT authority, the Austrian Patent Office has formed part of the “Champions League” since 1979. We are amongst the best centres for the protection of intellectual property worldwide. How that is determined? The “World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)” examines the qualification of individual patent offices and grants the best ones the status as a PCT authority. This title exists only 13 times worldwide, and Vienna belongs to the circle. Within its role as an international search and examination authority, the Austrian Patent Office prepares more than 1000 examination reports annually, mainly for Korea, Singapore, India, Brazil and South Africa.

In 2008, the Austrian Patent Office entered into a close cooperation with the Hungarian Patent Office within the scope of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Moreover, the axis Budapest-Vienna has already been notified by the WIPO. With immediate effect, the Hungarians are officially permitted to participate in the status of the Austrian Patent Office.

For Austria, this close connection with our Hungarian neighbours provides two advantages in one go: in June 2008, for one, the EU decided that Budapest was to receive the contract for the “European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)”. The EIT will become the centre of European innovation and with that be decisive for future European strategies in matters related to research and development. With the strong connection to the Hungarians, Austria is also provided with many benefits out of this centre.

And there is another thing on the part of the assets: thanks to the Hungarian Patent Office, the group of working languages is extended by Russian and Hungarian. This way, two essential and central languages of the future are covered as of now.