EPO patent filings hit all-time high

More than 250,000 patents were filed at the European Patent Office (EPO) last year, in what was a record year for applications.

Around 35 percent came from the EPO’s 38 member states, followed by the US, Japan, China and South Korea. Accounting for about 12 percent, Germany was Europe’s top filer, while France and Switzerland took the next two spaces.

The figures represent a 2.8 percent growth jump on the 2012 filings.

Last year, the EPO granted and published 66,700 patents, which was 1.7 percent more than in 2012.

EPO president Benoît Battistelli said the figures underline Europe’s importance as a stronghold of global innovation.

“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.”

With 22,200 filings, China contributed 18 percent more to the total applications than last year, while South Korea’s share increased by more than 16 percent.

“It’s clear that most of the pressure comes from Asia, in particular China,” said Rainer Bertram, partner at Grünecker Kinkeldey Stockmair & Schwanhäusser in Munich, “Plus 18 percent is a huge number: they have growth rates in China that we in Europe can only dream of.”

Gwilym Roberts, partner at Kilburn & Strode LLP, said in China there is a very strong state-driven target of increasing patent filing, and this is now filtering through to international filings.

“Korea’s huge success in high-tech areas is well documented,” he added, “Japan’s growth is more modest, but don’t write them off – they still file more than China and Korea together.”

The growth in EPO filings echoes figures in other major patent offices, Roberts continued, as businesses start to lose their “recession-driven caution”.

“It’s a sign of recovery and it also reflects policy in a number of jurisdictions as governments try to stimulate growth through innovation.”

Despite accounting for the most filings from Europe, Germany’s share of the filings dropped by more than 6 percent compared with last year.

Bertram said this trend may be explained by German companies that are not global players opting to use the local patent system “if they believe the cost of European patent filings is not justified”.

And multinational German companies may have foreign subsidiaries that file European patents and are therefore classed as foreign applicants, he added.

Meanwhile, the UK’s contribution (only 2.5 percent and down by nearly 3 percent from last year), was disappointing, said Roberts.

“It may echo a disconnect between innovativeness and willingness to invest.

“We’re likely to see a change as recent changes filter through – the Patent Box tax regime is now in force and proving popular, and our innovation director Rosa Wilkinson is making great strides in bringing the disparate elements of the innovation and entrepreneurial cultures in the UK together,” he said.