Export of agricultural patents may exceed imports in Ukraine

According to the report, about 11-12 thousand patents are registered annually in Ukraine, about 300 of them in the agrarian sector. About 60% of agricultural patents are registered by foreign residents, the USA (689 agricultural patents), EU (331), Germany (297), Great Britain (120) and Japan (107) became the most active among the last decade.

A feature that distinguishes Ukraine from other countries in this respect is that about 82% of patents are registered for utility models. The fact is that registering useful models is simpler, cheaper and faster than the invention, but the term of protection of the utility model by copyright is 10 years, and not 20 it works with invention.

The report also compares the activity of scientists, research topics and inventions registered in Ukraine and the Netherlands.

"Ukraine has a great potential in agriculture, but until now the growth of the sector was mainly due to natural resources and imported technologies. As the example of the Netherlands shows, innovations can significantly improve the productivity and profitability of the agricultural sector, " is said in the report.

For example, the development of the Netherlands in gardening and animal husbandry over the past ten years has led to the fact that their scientists have received many patents in a number of foreign countries, while most of the patents registered in Ukraine are due to the scientific activities of foreign companies in our country.

In addition, in the Netherlands, 98% of patents are registered by commercial companies, producers of agricultural products, which invest in their own research. Only 2% of patents are for scientific institutes. In Ukraine, 59% of patents belong to universities and research institutes.

"Most Ukrainian agricultural producers until recently imported new technologies, but now the situation began to change. Now, large players are beginning to invest in start-ups and infrastructure projects, strive to develop innovations for their business and own them, " is said in the report.

Thus, to date, the rating of owners of patents for inventions in Ukraine is headed by Qualcomm (644 patents), the National University of Food Technologies (405), the National Agricultural University (313), the National University of Bioresources and Nature Management (266) and the National Mining University (211).

The largest number of patents in Ukraine are held by the following foreign companies: Qualcomm (644 patents), Astrazeneca (182), Bayer (169), BASF (162) and Syngenta (155).

"Global trends show that agriculture should be more efficient in order to bring large yields on the same lands. Vertical agriculture, precise agriculture, agricultural work and unmanned aerial vehicles, automation and Internet of things in agriculture are becoming more common. Being an agricultural country, Ukraine is also becoming an active participant in innovations in agriculture. And while still the largest patent owners in the country's agriculture are universities, next to them there are more and more agro-technical start-ups. With their development in Ukraine, we can expect that in the near future the export of patents in the field of agricultural technology will exceed imports, " is summarized in the report.