The European Patent Office received 199,264 patent applications in 2024, slightly less than in 2023 (-0.1%). Patent applications from Europe, including the 39 EPO member states, increased by 0.3%, while those from outside Europe fell slightly (-0.4%). Worldwide, the United States led the way with 47,787 patent applications. In Europe, Germany led with 25,033 applications, followed by France (10,980 applications). Luxembourg ranked 30th with 307 applications. That’s a drop of 10.2% compared to 2023.

“Although filings from the 27 EU member states decreased (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%),” notes the EPO in its report.

Computing and transport drive European innovation

The technology sectors most represented in these patent applications are computing (16.815 applications), electrical machinery or machinery related to electrical energy (16,142 applications) and digital communication (15,983), although the latter has fallen slightly (-6.3% compared to 2023). The medical technology and transport sectors also feature in the top 5 most active areas. Other sectors, such as biotechnology (+5.4%) and organic fine chemicals (+1.5%), are experiencing an upward trend.

“EPO patent data provides a clear roadmap for industry, strategy and investment priorities. As the Draghi and Letta reports point out, to remain globally competitive, Europe needs to improve its innovation ecosystem and do more to help inventors develop and commercialise their inventions, particularly in critical areas such as green technologies, AI and semiconductors,” commented EPO president Antonio Campinos.

The company with the most applications was Samsung, with 5,107 applications. It took first place ahead of Huawei (4,322 applications), which is now in second place. LG retains third place with 3,623 requests.

Unitary patent becoming increasingly attractive

The EPO highlighted a notable advance: “By 2024, 25% of all patent applications to the EPO from Europe cited at least one woman inventor.” The organisation also points out that small businesses are increasingly using the patent system to stimulate innovation. For example, 22% of patent applications of European origin filed with the EPO came from individual inventors or SMEs (companies with fewer than 250 employees), and 7% came from universities and public research bodies.

In addition, the new unitary patent system launched in 2023, which is intended to be more accessible, was used for 25.6% of applications.

This article was originally published in .