University profile · TU Dortmund · 2013–2024
TU Dortmund held its filing volume and changed its content: mechanical engineering halved between the two cohorts.
123 patent families from 247 applications, compared across two complete five-year cohorts: 2013–2017 (55 families) and 2018–2022 (46).
- Data
- EPO PATSTAT Global, Spring 2026 (patstat-mtc.patstat_2026a)
- Unit
- DOCDB family, dated by its first filing year
- Scope
- Applicant name: twelve spellings of Technische Universität Dortmund
- Queries
- Query 0 to Query 12, all published
Mechanical engineering 26 → 13 · Instruments 13 → 15 families, 2013–2017 → 2018–2022
- 26 → 13
families in mechanical engineering, 2013–2017 against 2018–2022, while Instruments rose from 13 to 15.
Technology - 47.8%
PCT rate in 2018–2022, up from 43.6%. The US share rose from 14.5% to 21.7%.
Cohorts - 37.0%
of the 2018–2022 families never leave the German office, up from 27.3%.
Cohorts - 18 → 6
families naming A. Erman Tekkaya, the most frequent inventor, first cohort against second.
Inventors - 17.1%
of the 123 families (21) carry a second applicant.
Partners
01 · Activity
Between 7 and 15 new families in every one of twelve years
From 2013 to 2024 TU Dortmund is named applicant on 247 applications in 123 DOCDB families. Each family sits in the earliest filing year across all of its members, so the years add up to 123 without double counting.
2013–2017
55 families, an average of 11.0 a year, with 2.04 applications per family.
2018–2022
46 families, 9.2 a year, 2.15 applications per family. A difference of two or three families in one year is not a trend; the cohort view is the more reliable comparison.
2023–2024, provisional
22 families, still being published into PATSTAT. They appear in the trend and in the list of recent titles, and are held out of every cohort comparison.
Patent families and applications by first filing year
Data table: families and applications by year
| First filing year | Patent families | Applications | Cohort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 9 | 19 | 2013–2017 |
| 2014 | 11 | 25 | 2013–2017 |
| 2015 | 7 | 14 | 2013–2017 |
| 2016 | 15 | 26 | 2013–2017 |
| 2017 | 13 | 28 | 2013–2017 |
| 2018 | 7 | 14 | 2018–2022 |
| 2019 | 12 | 25 | 2018–2022 |
| 2020 | 10 | 19 | 2018–2022 |
| 2021 | 10 | 22 | 2018–2022 |
| 2022 | 7 | 19 | 2018–2022 |
| 2023* | 11 | 19 | held out |
| 2024* | 11 | 17 | held out |
| Total | 123 | 247 |
Query 2 · 18.4 GBHatched: provisional years
02 · Cohorts
The 2018–2022 cohort reaches further abroad, and more of it stays at home
The cohorts are close in size, 55 and 46 families. The PCT rate rises from 43.6% to 47.8% and the US share from 14.5% to 21.7%, while the EP share falls from 60.0% to 54.3%; average authorities per family rise from 2.05 to 2.24. At the same time more families stay at the German office alone, 15 to 17, or 27.3% to 37.0%. That is consistent with a two-track portfolio. The underlying differences are 2 to 7 families, so the direction is better supported than the magnitude.
Share of cohort families reaching each route (%)
Data table: cohort comparison
| Metric | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Patent families | 55 | 46 |
| Applications by TU Dortmund | 112 | 99 |
| Applications per family | 2.04 | 2.15 |
| Families with a DE member | 41 (74.5%) | 36 (78.3%) |
| Families with an EP member | 33 (60.0%) | 25 (54.3%) |
| Families with a WO (PCT) member, PCT rate | 24 (43.6%) | 22 (47.8%) |
| Families with a US member | 8 (14.5%) | 10 (21.7%) |
| Families filed at DE only | 15 (27.3%) | 17 (37.0%) |
| Families at a single authority | 20 (36.4%) | 19 (41.3%) |
| Co-filed families (second applicant) | 11 (20.0%) | 7 (15.2%) |
| Average patent authorities per family | 2.05 | 2.24 |
| Distinct patent authorities reached | 10 | 12 |
| Families with at least one granted member* | 30 (54.5%) | 10 (21.7%) |
Query 3 · 16.8 GBCoverage counts family members: a family counts once per authority · grant figures: see Grants
03 · Technology
Mechanical engineering halved, from 26 to 13 families, almost all of it in machine tools
Machine tools fell from 17 families to 7. Instruments moved the other way, 13 to 15, carried by measurement: the largest single field in the second cohort with 12 families against 8. Chemistry and electrical engineering stay close to flat at sector level while their mix shifts: biotechnology 2 to 5 and basic materials chemistry 1 to 4, against materials and metallurgy 5 to 0 and pharmaceuticals 4 to 1.
Patent families by WIPO sector and cohort (a family can sit in several)
Data table: WIPO sectors by cohort
| WIPO sector | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 | 2023–2024* | Change (families) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanical engineering | 26 | 13 | 5 | −13 |
| Chemistry | 18 | 17 | 6 | −1 |
| Electrical engineering | 17 | 16 | 6 | −1 |
| Instruments | 13 | 15 | 7 | +2 |
| Other fields | 1 | 0 | 3 | −1 |
| Sum of sectors | 75 | 61 | 27 | |
| Distinct families | 55 | 46 | 22 |
Data table: WIPO fields
| WIPO field | Sector | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 | 2023–2024* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement | Instruments | 8 | 12 | 6 | 26 |
| Machine tools | Mechanical engineering | 17 | 7 | 1 | 25 |
| Other special machines | Mechanical engineering | 8 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Telecommunications | Electrical engineering | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy | Electrical engineering | 7 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| Organic fine chemistry | Chemistry | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Chemical engineering | Chemistry | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| Biotechnology | Chemistry | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| Computer technology | Electrical engineering | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
| Macromolecular chemistry, polymers | Chemistry | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Pharmaceuticals | Chemistry | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Basic materials chemistry | Chemistry | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Materials, metallurgy | Chemistry | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Digital communication | Electrical engineering | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
Query 5 · 2.8 GB2023–2024 shown for orientation only, not part of the comparison
Multi-assignment. A family counts once in every sector and field its IPC codes map to, so the sector sums (75, 61, 27) exceed the distinct family counts (55, 46, 22). The sums are not a total.
04 · IPC
Sheet-metal working fell from 16 families to 3; materials analysis rose from 4 to 9
B21D and G01N are the two largest movements in the table and repeat what the sector view shows. G01R (electrical measurement) holds at 3 families in both cohorts and adds 3 more in 2023–2024; C12N (microorganisms and enzymes) grows from 1 family to 4. Plastics shaping (B29C) and additive manufacturing (B33Y) stay present throughout, which places part of the manufacturing work outside the sheet-metal decline.
Patent families in the twelve most frequent IPC subclasses, by cohort
Data table: IPC subclasses by cohort
| IPC | Subclass title | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 | 2023–2024* | Total | Change (families) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B21D | Working or processing of sheet metal or metal tubes, rods or profiles | 16 | 3 | 0 | 19 | −13 |
| G01N | Investigating or analysing materials by determining their chemical or physical properties | 4 | 9 | 3 | 16 | +5 |
| B29C | Shaping or joining of plastics | 7 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −4 |
| H04B | Transmission | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 | +2 |
| G01R | Measuring electric variables; measuring magnetic variables | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| C07D | Heterocyclic compounds | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | +1 |
| C12N | Microorganisms or enzymes; compositions thereof | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | +3 |
| A61K | Preparations for medical, dental or toiletry purposes | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −3 |
| B01J | Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | −2 |
| B33Y | Additive manufacturing | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| G06F | Electric digital data processing | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| B21C | Manufacture of metal sheets, wire, rods, tubes, profiles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −1 |
| H04W | Wireless communication networks | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | +1 |
| B01D | Separation | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −1 |
| H02J | Electric power networks; circuit arrangements for power supply | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | −3 |
| A61P | Specific therapeutic activity of chemical compounds | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | −3 |
Query 6 · 3.9 GBNo percentage changes: every cohort figure is below 20 families
Multi-assignment. A family carries several IPC codes and counts once in each subclass. The 2013–2017 column of this table alone sums to 59 for 55 distinct families. Subclass counts are not shares of the portfolio.
05 · Inventors
A. Erman Tekkaya is named on 18 first-cohort families and on 6 in the second
This is the largest change in the inventor record and runs in the same direction as sheet-metal working. Of the 24 inventors on three or more families, 8 have no family in the first cohort (Palzer, Böcker, Hering, Thommes, Brümmer, Ortiz Perez, Kockmann, Jenau); their areas, sensing, communications and process engineering, match the fields that grow. Eleven of the 24 are named in both cohorts and five only in the first; of those in both, two hold their count (Wietfeld 3 and 3, Frei 2 and 3).
The twelve inventors with the most families, by cohort
Data table: inventors on three or more families
| Inventor | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 | 2023–2024* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tekkaya, A. Erman | 18 | 6 | 0 | 24 |
| Palzer, Stefan | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Wietfeld, Christian | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Frei, Stephan | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Rehtanz, Christian | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Künne, Bernd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Tiller, Jörg Christian | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Gies, Soeren | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Meya, Rickmer | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Katzenberg, Frank | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Böcker, Stefan | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Brunschweiger, Andreas | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Klika Skopic, Mateja | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Krautwald, Tim | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Ben Khalifa, Noomane | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Pfost, Martin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Wernicke, Sebastian | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Staupendahl, Daniel | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Hering, Oliver | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Thommes, Markus | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Brümmer, Andreas | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Ortiz Perez, Alvaro | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Kockmann, Norbert | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jenau, Frank | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Query 7 · 6.5 GBName variants merged by a case-, punctuation- and word-order-insensitive key
06 · Where
96 of 123 families have a German member, and the international routes rearrange around it
The DE share rises slightly between the cohorts, from 74.5% to 78.3%. The second cohort reaches more distinct authorities, 12 against 10, including first-time filings at KR, IL, MX, AU and ES with a single family each. With the DE-only share rising from 27.3% to 37.0%, the portfolio spreads out at the top and concentrates at the bottom. All of these movements rest on differences of 2 to 7 families.
Patent authorities reached by the 123 families, 2013–2024
Data table: patent authorities reached
| Authority | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 | 2023–2024* | Total families |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE · DPMA | 41 | 36 | 19 | 96 |
| EP · EPO | 33 | 25 | 4 | 62 |
| WO · PCT | 24 | 22 | 11 | 57 |
| US · USPTO | 8 | 10 | 1 | 19 |
| JP · JPO | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| CN · CNIPA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| CA · CIPO | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| LU, FR, DK | 1 each | 0 | 0 | 1 each |
| IL, MX, AU, ES, KR | 0 | 1 each | 0 | 1 each |
| TW | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sum of the nine single-family authorities (9 authority-family pairs across 7 distinct families) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| Distinct authorities | 10 | 12 | 5 | 16 |
Query 3 · 16.8 GBNon-exclusive: a family appears under every authority it reaches (Query 4)
Share of cohort families at each main authority (%)
Data table: share of cohort families per authority
| Authority | 2013–2017 (n=55) | 2018–2022 (n=46) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE · DPMA | 41 · 74.5% | 36 · 78.3% | +3.8 pp |
| EP · EPO | 33 · 60.0% | 25 · 54.3% | −5.7 pp |
| WO · PCT | 24 · 43.6% | 22 · 47.8% | +4.2 pp |
| US · USPTO | 8 · 14.5% | 10 · 21.7% | +7.2 pp |
| Families at DE only | 15 · 27.3% | 17 · 37.0% | +9.7 pp |
Query 3 · 16.8 GBMembers filed by any applicant of the family count
2023–2024 is provisional. National and regional phases of PCT applications from these filing years are largely still ahead, which is why EP and US coverage is low there. Those two years are excluded from the cohort comparison.
07 · Partners
21 of 123 families carry a second applicant, and almost every partner appears once
The 21 co-filed families involve 21 organisations and four individuals. Only Universität Duisburg-Essen and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft appear on two families each, and each pair straddles two periods. The mix is academic and research-heavy in both cohorts: 6 of 12 partner records in 2013–2017, 4 of 8 in 2018–2022. The only partners outside Germany are Astrol Electronic (CH) in the first cohort and, in the provisional 2023–2024 window, Northeastern University and New York University in Abu Dhabi on one shared family.
Co-filing rate by cohort
| Cohort | Families | Co-filed families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2017 | 55 | 11 | 20.0% |
| 2018–2022 | 46 | 7 | 15.2% |
| 2023–2024* | 22 | 3 | 13.6% |
| 2013–2024 | 123 | 21 | 17.1% |
Data table: co-applicants by cohort
| Partner | Type | 2013–2017 | 2018–2022 | 2023–2024* | Families |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universität Duisburg-Essen | University | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Max-Planck-Gesellschaft | Research | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Karlsruher Institut für Technologie | University | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Technische Universität Berlin | University | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald | University | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Technische Universität Dresden | University | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt | University | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Northeastern University (US) | University | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New York University in Abu Dhabi (AE) | University | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft | Research | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften, ISAS | Research | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| ZBT GmbH, Zentrum für Brennstoffzellentechnik | Research | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bayer AG | Company | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TRUMPF Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH + Co. KG | Company | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies Germany GmbH | Company | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Astrol Electronic AG (CH) | Company | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| EF.Ruhr GmbH | Company | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| ISPT GmbH & Co. KG | Company | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GDS Präzisionszerspanungs GmbH | Company | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| W2 Armaturen GmbH | Company | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bundesrepublik Deutschland (federal ministry) | Government | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Named individuals (4 persons on 2 families) | Individual | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Query 8 · 16.2 GBPartner rows sum above the co-filed families: two partners can share a family · Type assigned by mtc.berlin from name and legal form
08 · Grants
In the examined cohort the EPO granted 21 of 37 applications, the German office 7 of 40
Grant rates for 2018–2022 are not a quality signal. Examination runs for several years after filing, so applications from 2018 onwards are still substantially pending at every office and their grant share is bound to be lower. The two columns stand side by side because the numbers exist, not because they are comparable. The provisional 2023–2024 window is not shown.
For 2013–2017, 6 of 8 US applications were granted. The gap between DE (17.5%) and EP (56.8%) fits how these filings are used: 25 of the 41 families with a DE member in that cohort also have an EP or WO member, so the German application often serves as the priority filing for an international route. 15 families of the cohort never leave DE, and abandonment before examination would show up in that group.
Granted share of TU Dortmund applications by office and cohort (%)
Data table: grant outcomes by office and cohort
| Office | 2013–2017 applications | granted | share | 2018–2022 applications | granted | share* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE · DPMA | 40 | 7 | 17.5% | 36 | 1 | 2.8% |
| EP · EPO | 37 | 21 | 56.8% | 26 | 5 | 19.2% |
| US · USPTO | 8 | 6 | 75.0% | 10 | 4 | 40.0% |
Data table: families with a granted member
| Cohort | Families | With a granted member | Share* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2017 | 55 | 30 | 54.5% |
| 2018–2022 | 46 | 10 | 21.7% |
| 2023–2024 | 22 | 5 | 22.7% |
Query 9WO excluded: a PCT application is not examined for grant · US rests on 8 and 10 applications
Two of the 247 applications are German translations of granted European patents (appln_kind T), validations rather than new DPMA filings: one in the 2018–2022 column, one in 2023–2024. Query 9 was aggregated from the Query 2 result set to stay inside the query budget.
09 · Citations
The most cited family, filed in 2013, has 45 citing publications
It concerns hybrid simulation of a power distribution network together with its communication network. Four of the eleven most cited families sit in additive manufacturing and sheet forming (ranks 3, 4, 6 and 10), three in energy and grid technology (ranks 1, 7 and 8): the strengths of the earlier cohort. The one entry from the second cohort, a filament changer for 3D printing filed in 2018, has gathered 23 citing publications in a shorter window than any family above it.
The eleven most cited families by citing patent publications
Data table: most cited families
| # | Title | First filing year | Citing publications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer implemented method for hybrid simulation of power distribution network and associated communication network for real time applications | 2013 | 45 |
| 2 | Optical free-space transmission | 2014 | 33 |
| 3 | Method and device for the combined production of components by means of incremental sheet forming and additive methods in one clamping setup | 2014 | 31 |
| 4 | Device for three-dimensional additive printing operations, in particular for large-volume components, in particular according to the method of fused deposition molding (FDM) | 2014 | 27 |
| 5 | Method for monitoring airspace | 2014 | 23 |
| 6 | Device and method for changing filaments of different colour and/or different materials for the production of 3D printed parts and extruder with filament changing system | 2018 | 23 |
| 7 | Apparatus, used to produce hydrogen by thermal decomposition of e.g. methane, comprises pyrolysis reactor having reaction chamber present in form of capillary | 2013 | 21 |
| 8 | System and method for controlling the frequency stability and/or voltage stability of the distribution network | 2013 | 15 |
| 9 | Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Ermittlung charakteristischer Materialkennwerte, insbesondere von Fließkurven von Leichtbauwerkstoffen, insbesondere für das Strangpressen | 2015 | 14 |
| 10 | Verfahren zur Herstellung thermoplastischer Faser-Metall-Laminat-Bauteile mittels Umformverfahren | 2014 | 13 |
| 10 | DNA-encoded chemical library, use thereof and method to synthesize the library | 2015 | 13 |
Data table: citation coverage by cohort
| Cohort | Families | With at least one citation | Share | Sum of per-family citing publications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2017 | 55 | 41 | 74.5% | 358 |
| 2018–2022 | 46 | 28 | 60.9% | 91 |
| 2023–2024 | 22 | 2 | 9.1% | 2 |
| 2013–2024 | 123 | 71 | 57.7% | 451 |
Query 10 · 16.2 GBTitles at ranks 7 and 10 shortened at a clause boundary
Citations are not normalised. The metric counts distinct citing patent publications per family, self-citations included. The coverage sum counts a publication citing two families twice. Older families have had more years to be cited, so the cohort figures cannot be read as a difference in impact.
10 · Recent filings
Seven of the 22 most recent filings measure or sense a physical quantity
Gas concentration, melt temperature in extrusion, partial discharge, electric current, material fatigue by ultrasound, battery state and spiroergometry: the area that grows in the field view (measurement: 8 families in 2013–2017, 12 in 2018–2022, 6 in these two provisional years). Five are chemistry or biotechnology filings. The remaining ten spread across 3D printing equipment, gas expansion machinery, gripping technology, mobile-network localisation, radio reflectors, adaptive filtering, tensor completion, heating surfaces, a roof-light element and a shower base unit. These two years are incomplete, so the list shows direction, not volume.
All 22 families first filed in 2023 or 2024, in filing order
| First filing year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Cannabichromenic acid synthase variants and uses thereof |
| 2023 | Compounds for use in the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) |
| 2023 | Testing apparatus and method for assessing the fatigue behavior of a material on flat test pieces by means of ultrasound |
| 2023 | Method for controlling a spiroergometry system |
| 2023 | Shower base unit |
| 2023 | Optically-based electric current metering system and use thereof |
| 2023 | Sensor for determining the concentration of a gas |
| 2023 | Active adaptive filter with a switch signal-based pre-control path and a switch signal delay function in the main path |
| 2023 | Druckeinrichtung für den 3D-Druck |
| 2023 | Vorrichtung und Verfahren zur nicht-invasiven Messung der Schmelzetemperatur in Extrusionsprozessen |
| 2023 | Vorrichtung und Verfahren zur 3D-Tensor-Vervollständigung |
| 2024 | Method and system for hydrogenating unsaturated hydrocarbon compounds |
| 2024 | Apparatus and method for expanding gases that are under high pressure by means of an expansion machine that can be integrated into pressure control devices |
| 2024 | Method for producing solids |
| 2024 | Cellular user localization system: SMS side-channel timing analysis method and apparatus |
| 2024 | Heizflächenelement, Heizflächeneinheit, Verfahren zum Betreiben einer Heizflächeneinheit |
| 2024 | Broadband low-inductance ohmic-capacitive voltage divider for a partial discharge measurement |
| 2024 | Reflector assembly for reflecting a radio signal |
| 2024 | Integrated state monitoring function of a battery |
| 2024 | Lichtdurchlasselement für ein Dachoberlicht |
| 2024 | Greifvorrichtung zum kraftschlüssigen Greifen oder Positionieren von Bauteilen |
| 2024 | Herstellung und Verwendung von kumulierten S-Yliden der Struktur R1R2S=CN2 |
Query 11 · 2.7 GBThe complete list, not a selection · English title where one exists · one title shortened · provisional data
11 · How we counted
How the numbers were counted
- One family, dated onceA DOCDB family is dated by the minimum filing year across all of its members, taken before the 2013–2024 window is applied, so the annual figures add to exactly 123. Pseudo-families (docdb_family_id 0) are excluded.
- Two complete, equal cohorts2013–2017 and 2018–2022. A cohort ending in 2023 or 2024 would measure publication lag; a six-year block against a five-year block would show a decline from arithmetic alone. 55 + 46 + 22 = 123.
- Scope on person_name, not han_nameTwelve spellings of Technische Universität Dortmund with an application filed 2013–2024 are kept, from the standard forms to character damage and re-orderings.
- Two levels kept apartFamily facts (first year, presence at an authority, any granted member) use all members of the family; application counts and grant rates use the applications TU Dortmund itself filed. The PCT rate is the share of families with any WO member; both readings were computed and agree (24, 22 and 11 families per cohort).
Checks and limits
- han_name contamination, measuredFive of the twelve spellings carry han_name TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT MUNCHEN. That group holds 30 distinct person_name values and 1,074 families with a 2013–2024 filing: 102 TU Dortmund, 973 other organisations, among them Technische Universität München and Technische Universität Berlin.
- han_name fragmentation, measuredTU Dortmund spreads over seven han_name groups. The largest clean group covers 31 families; the other five clean groups hold one or two each.
- ExclusionsFachhochschule Dortmund (two spellings with 9 and 1 in-window families), the Leibniz-Institut für Arbeitsforschung an der TU Dortmund and the Institut für Arbeitsphysiologie (legally independent, no in-window families), and the pre-2007 name Universität Dortmund (last filing year 2011, nothing in the window).
- Non-Latin names searchedOne Chinese rendering exists on one family, which is already in scope through its Latin-spelled members.
- Partners on the same documentCo-applicants are joined on appln_id and TU Dortmund is removed by person_id, so no spelling of the university reappears as its own partner. A family whose members are filed separately by two organisations does not count as a collaboration.
- Patents of invention onlyipr_type PI removes exactly one application, a German utility model filed in 2019 whose family stays in scope. There are no design filings.
- Small numbers7 to 15 families per year; most cohort differences are 2 to 7 families. Percentages always stand beside absolute counts, and no percentage change is given where the base is below ten.
- 2023 and 2024 are provisionalShown separately and excluded from every comparison.
- Grant ratesFilings from 2018 onwards are depressed by examination pendency and not comparable with 2013–2017. PCT applications are excluded from the grant table.
- Applicant-only viewInventions by TU Dortmund researchers where the university is not applicant are outside this portfolio.
- Editorial sector labelsPATSTAT carries no sector field; partner types were assigned by mtc.berlin from name and legal form.
- Filing year, not publication yearRegister searches counting by publication year return different totals for the same period.
- Not in this reportNo top-applicants ranking (the applicant is the subject). No external benchmark: the university's transfer pages state no annual application count, so that check was not performed rather than reported as passed.
- ClassificationThe portfolio is defined by applicant name, so subtree expansion and predecessor union do not apply. Subclass titles are joined on symbol_patstat without an is_active filter; WIPO fields come from tls230_appln_techn_field.
- Aggregated, then verifiedGrant outcomes by office and cohort, the annual series and the DE-only and single-authority counts were aggregated from the Query 2 result set to stay inside the budget; Query 3 verifies the cohort totals against the database.
- EditionComputed on 15 August 2026 against EPO PATSTAT Global, Spring 2026 (patstat-mtc.patstat_2026a), IPC 20260101 and CPC 202608.
The base set: applications and family-level facts
Query 2 · 18.4 GBqueries.sql · 14 executed queries, 0.9088 EUR in total
Release protocol
- Agentsearch + draftDefined the applicant scope and queried PATSTAT read-only. Every number comes from SQL.
- Checks13 rulesEvery claim must trace back to a query; chart and table must agree.
- Reviewsubject expertChecks scope, counts and wording before publication.
- Approvalsecond personA second person not involved in the report approves publication.
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