The EPO received more than 265 000 patent filings in 2013. This is a 2.8% increase over 2012 (257 700 filings), and a new all-time high. Last year, after a high-quality search and examination process, the EPO granted and published 66 700 patents, which was 1.7% more than in 2012 (65 600).
“The figures underline Europe’s importance as a stronghold of global innovation,” said EPO President Benoît Battistelli. “This is the fourth year in a row that patent filings at the EPO have grown. Despite a recent rule change in the application procedure, which kept growth modest in 2013, the figures are up and demand for patents in Europe is clearly on the rise.”
Last year, 93 600 filings (35.3% of the total; growth of +/-0% over 2012) at the EPO originated from its 38 member states, followed by the US (64 800 filings; 24.5% of the total; +2%), Japan (52 300; 19.7%; +1.2%), China (22 200 filings; 8.4%; +18%) and South Korea (16 900 filings; 6.4%; +16.6%).
In Europe, Germany remains the top country of origin of patent filings at the EPO (32 000; 12.1% of total filings; -6.3% over 2012), followed by France (12 200; 4.6%; +/-0%), Switzerland (8 000; 3%; -2.2%), the Netherlands (7 600; 2.9%; +18%), UK (6 500; 2.5%; -2.9%) and Sweden (5 000; 1.9%; +7.7%).
Important note
These are preliminary figures. The EPO will publish detailed figures on individual countries and sectors, as well as a ranking of companies, on 6 March 2014.
