Endress+Hauser Group files 287 patents in 2018
The number of patents submitted by the Endress+Hauser Group continues to rise. As reported during the annual Innovators’ Meeting held this year in France, the Group submitted 287 initial patents in 2018, a new record. Endress+Hauser owns nearly 7,800 active intellectual property rights worldwide.
Angelika Andres, Corporate Director, Intellectual Property Rights at Endress+Hauser, is pleased with the most recent activities: “This year we once again achieved a record number of innovations, both in the number of patent filings and the number of approved patents.” While the 309 invention disclosures are a sign of the company’s ongoing innovation capability, the 537 granted patent applications also represent an all-time high.
Roughly
one-third of the patent filings are related to the Industrial Internet of
Things, digital communications and instrument diagnostics. Under the motto #empowerthefield,
in 2018 the measurement engineering specialist began to bundle its digital
activities with a focus on Heartbeat Technology, as well as the recently
introduced Netilion IIoT ecosystem.
Patent department in the US
Each invention undergoes a multistage internal evaluation process before
submission to the patent office, usually within four months. To handle the
stream of innovations, in 2016 an internal patent department was created in the
US, one of the Group’s most important markets. Four specialists at the
Greenwood, Indiana location are responsible for protecting the technical
innovations. This team has full responsibility for handling all patent filings from
the Group companies located in the US, plus up to 80 percent of the overseas
filings.
Innovation spirit in the spotlight
Under the motto ‘Innovation – what makes us human’, Matthias Altendorf, CEO of
the Endress+Hauser Group, as well as other members of the Executive Board,
welcomed more than 300 guests to the annual Innovators’ Meeting, which was held
in late March in Saint-Louis, France. Employees involved in patent filings
presented their innovations during the company’s traditional get-together.
Exceptional innovations were recognized with special awards.
