Celebrating more than 2,000 patents and patent applications
April 26 marks World Intellectual Property Day. This is a day established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), one of 15 specialized UN agencies that was created to spread awareness about how intellectual property rights contribute to innovation and creativity. To Yara, World Intellectual Property Day is unique because the company secures rights and ownership of knowledge developed by employees through its patents and trademarks.
The world's most important invention
119 years ago, chemist Kristian Birkeland managed to find a method to convert nitrogen from gas to a form that could be added to the soil to increase food production.
This was the beginning of the invention that is said to have saved the most human lives ever and became Yara's first product. Throughout his career, Birkeland patented an incredible 42 different inventions.
It was through this curiosity that has put knowledge into action in helping to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet.
More than 100 researchers
Today, 117 years after Yara was established in 1905, more than a hundred researchers work in the company - in Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and England.
These researchers have contributed to Yara evolving from being a global natural fertilizer company to becoming a world-leading company that, through innovation, is also at the forefront of the development of climate solutions that reduce emissions from both industry and transport.
“These patents represent Yara's values: curiosity, ambition, collaboration and accountability. For Yara it is important to protect our researchers' work, as this is Yara's most important value.”
An innovative company
Yara now has more than 2,000 patents and patent applications. This is almost twice as many as five years ago.
When Patent Administrator, Petter Andrésen joined Yara in 2016, there was a portfolio of 1,167 patents and patent applications. In just six years, the portfolio has almost doubled.
“I am very proud of this development and believe it says a lot about the innovative focus at Yara,” he says.
117 years after researcher Kristian Birkeland and entrepreneur Samuel Eyde established the company, these patents are proof that innovation is alive and well at Yara this World Intellectual Propety Day and every day.
Patent marking: Turning ideas into intellectual property
We protect our knowledge and ideas by way of intellectual property, especially in the form of patents and trademarks. Check out our virtual patent marking registry for selected patent information about Yara products.
