Staying with the brain, or braininess, to be more accurate - last year inventors and innovators in the Czech Republic applied for a record number of patents. Precisely 627, which is twenty percent more than in 2002.
Most of the applications filed last year with the Industry Property Office of the Czech Republic concerned inventions in organic chemistry and medicine. The office expressed hope that the increase will be a permanent feature, contributing to the revitalisation of the country's industry and research and development. Last year the Industry Property Office granted 1,800 patents and around 20,000 applications are still waiting to be processed. It has to be said, though, that as many as 83 percent of the new patent applications in 2003 were filed by foreign companies.
