Updates to Japanese examination practice
This month an update to Japanese patent practice took effect.
Read more
The European Patent Office (EPO) has recently published the Patent Index 2024, which sets out key figures and trends in patenting activity at the EPO in 2024. Here, we highlight five key findings from the report. The full report can be accessed here.
Demand for European patents remains high, with the number of patent applications filed at the EPO in 2024 being comparable to that of the previous year. This follows three years of steady growth in patenting activity at the EPO. Figure 1 below shows the filing trends at the EPO over the past few years.
The top three countries filing the greatest number of patent applications at the EPO are the US, Japan and the People’s Republic of China.
43% of all patent applications filed at the EPO originated from European countries. Of the European countries, Germany filed the greatest number of applications, accounting for 12.6% of all patent applications, followed by France, accounting for 5.5% of all patent applications. Whilst the UK accounted for 3.1% of all patent applications, it showed an increase in the number of patent filings compared to the previous year.
The technology field with the greatest number of patent applications was Computer Technology, with 16,815 filings. This was closely followed by the technology fields Electrical Machinery, Apparatus and Energy, with 16,142 filings, Digital Communication, with 15,983 filings, and Medical Technology, with 15,701 filings.
The technology fields showing the highest growth in patenting activity were Electrical Machine, Apparatus, and Energy (up 8.9% compared to the previous year) and Biotechnology (up 5.4% compared to the previous year). Meanwhile, the field of Pharmaceuticals showed a significant decrease in patenting activity.
This data seems somewhat expected given the current “hot topics” and recent technological advances in areas such as AI, clean energy technologies, such as battery innovations, and innovative healthcare.
Large companies remain the leading applicants for European patent applications. Samsung came out on top, filing 5107 applications, followed by Huawei with 4322 applications and LG with 3623 applications.
Although large companies dominate the rankings for the number of patent applications filed, 22% of patent applications originating from Europe came from individual inventors or SMEs, and universities and public research organisations account for a further 7%.
Overall, this demonstrates that innovation in Europe is driven by a diverse range of applicants.
The Unitary Patent system was launched in 2023 and currently offers patent protection across 18 EU member states with a single request. If you would like to find out more about the Unitary Patent, you can read more about it here.
The data shows that in 2024, the Unitary Patent was requested for 26% of all European patents granted by the EPO. This was an increase of 53% on the previous year, demonstrating that the system is gaining momentum since its launch back in 2023.
The Patent Index 2024 demonstrates the importance of patenting in driving innovation in Europe. The sustained high levels of patenting activity in Europe also provides evidence that patenting helps to support business growth, expansion and investment.
The EPO President, António Campinos, comments “Despite political and economic uncertainties, European companies and inventors filed more patents last year, underlining their technological prowess and their continued investment in R&D”… “The EPO’s patent data is a clear roadmap for industry, policy, and investment priorities. As the Draghi and Letta reports warn, to stay competitive globally, Europe must enhance its innovation ecosystem and do more to help inventors scale up and commercialise their inventions, especially in critical areas such as green technologies, AI and semiconductors.”
If you would like to find out more about patenting in Europe, please contact us to speak to one of our qualified attorneys.