EPO Statistical Report 2024 Published

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Source: EPO

The 2024 Patent Index, released by the European Patent Office (EPO) on March 25, shows that innovation has continued to flourish, with last year's filings at the same high level as in 2023.​ 

Companies and inventors from all over the world filed 199,264 patent applications with the EPO last year, which is on par with 2023 (-0.1%), following three years of significant growth.

Patent applications from Europe, including all 39 EPO member states, rose by 0.3%, while those outside Europe fell slightly (-0.4%), the EPO said.

"Despite political and economic uncertainties, European companies and inventors filed more patent applications last year, underlining their technological prowess and their continued investment in R&D," EPO President António Campinos said. He added that the EPO 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," said the EPO president.

Computer technology, which includes areas of artificial intelligence such as machine learning and pattern recognition, was the leading field for the first time with 16,815 patent applications in 2024.

In terms of countries, the United States maintained its position as the leading country of origin for European patent applications, followed by Germany, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea. EPO member states accounted for 43% of applications, while 57% came from outside Europe.

Of the big companies, Samsung was the new top applicant in the EPO in 2024 (the last time it topped the rankings was in 2020), Huawei fell to second place, followed by LG, Qualcomm and RTX. The top 10 includes four companies from Europe, two from the Republic of Korea, two from the United States and one each from the People's Republic of China and Japan, according to the EPO announcement.

A detailed report published on the EPO website is available here.