EPO received a record number of applications in 2021

Mostar, April 12, 2022 - European Patent Office (EPO) received 188,600 applications in 2021, which is 4.5% more than the previous year and the largest number so far.

According to the EPO Patent Index, digital communication and computer technology recorded the highest growth in applications, so digital communication grew by 9.4% compared to 2020 and closely surpassed medical technology (+ 0.8%) as the area with the highest number of European patent applications in 2021. Computer technology was the third most powerful, with the highest growth (+ 9.7%) among the top ten.

The five countries from which the largest number of European patent applications were received are the United States, Germany, Japan, China and France, while among companies Huawei had the most applications, followed by the leader in 2020 Samsung and LG. Ericsson and Siemens moved up one position, to fourth and fifth place.

More statistics can be found at the following link.