Universities in Saxony File Nearly Three Times as Many Patents as the German National Average

Universities in the eastern German states file 3.9 patents per 1,000 students. That is more than twice as many as in western Germany, where only 1.8 patents per 1,000 students are filed, according to a new IW study. Universities in Saxony are particularly innovative, with 5.4 patents per 1,000 students, followed by those in Thuringia with 4.7. The fewest patents come from universities in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia, which register just over one patent per 1,000 students. The national average is two.

Over the past five years, German universities have filed nearly 5,000 patents. About 300 of these were filed by the Dresden University of Technology (TUD), followed by the Technical University of Munich with just under 230 and RWTH Aachen University with 220 applications.

In terms of the number of patent applications per 1,000 students, Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (TUBAF) leads the way in Germany with around 24 patent applications per 1,000 students.

Nearly one in three university patents is developed in cooperation with partners—compared to only about one in twenty for other patent applicants in Germany. Large German corporations are particularly frequently involved, participating in more than one-third of all university collaborations. “Those who file a patent today often bring a new product to market tomorrow. For companies, universities are thus important think tanks,” says IW expert Oliver Koppel.