European Patents Still in High Demand
Computer technology — including AI fields such as machine learning and pattern recognition — became the leading category for the first time.
The Patent Index 2024 by the European Patent Office (EPO), shows that innovation has continued to flourish, with last year’s filings on the same high level as the number seen in 2023.
Patent applications from Europe, including all 39 EPO member states, rose by 0.3%, while those from outside Europe fell slightly (-0.4%).
“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,” said EPO President António Campinos.
Computer technology takes the lead
Computer technology, which includes areas of AI such as machine learning and pattern recognition, was the leading field for the first time, with 16 815 patent applications in 2024. Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy posted the strongest growth last year (+8.9% on 2023), driven by advances in clean energy technologies, particularly battery innovation (+24.0%). Meanwhile digital communication, which encompasses inventions related to mobile networks, saw a 6.3% decrease.
Global and European trends
The United States maintained its position as the top country of origin for European patent applications, followed by Germany, Japan, People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. EPO member states accounted for 43% of filings, while 57% came from outside Europe. Notably, R. Korea saw the strongest growth (+4.2%), P.R. China saw an 0.5% increase, while companies and inventors from the US (-0.8%) and Japan (-2.4%) filed fewer applications. The ranking of the top ten countries of origin remains unchanged since 2023.
The number of patent applications originating in the 39 EPO member states increased again in 2024 (86 296 applications, +0.3%), although filings from the EU 27 member states were down (68 392 applications, -0.4%). European companies and inventors posted above average growth in the fields of computer technology (+5.9%) and transport (+4.8%).
Switzerland and the UK show strongest growth among EPO member states
Germany (+0.4%) and France (+1.1%), Europe’s top two filing countries, were up slightly in 2024. The strongest growth among the larger filing countries (with over 5 000 applications) was seen in Switzerland (+3.2%) and the UK (+3.1%). Switzerland also remained the lead country in terms of patents per capita, followed by several Nordic countries.
Further significant increases in the overall number of European patent applications were seen among European countries with over 1 000 applications, including in Ireland (+4.4%), Spain (+3.0%) and Finland (+2.7%).
Large companies are major contributors
Samsung was the new top applicant at the EPO in 2024 (having last topped the ranking in 2020), Huawei dropped to second, followed by LG, Qualcomm and RTX. The top 10 includes four companies from Europe, two from R. Korea, two from the US, and one each from P.R. China and Japan.
One in four patent applications includes a woman inventor
In 2024, 25% of all patent applications to the EPO coming from Europe named at least one woman as an inventor. Among major filing countries (over 2 000 applications), Spain led with 42%, followed by Belgium (32%) and France (31%).