Ollyy / Shutterstock.com
The European Patent Office experienced a record year for patent filings in 2015, but there are concerns that it cannot cope with the increasing number of pending applications and appeals, as Gordon Wright of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys reports.
The 2015 Annual Report of the European Patent Office (EPO), published on March 3, 2016, shows that the number of European patent applications rose to a record 160,000 in 2015, up by 4.8% on the 152,000 filed the previous year.
This increase was driven mainly by companies from the US (up 16.4%) and China (up 22.2%). The volume of applications from the 38 EPO member states increased only slightly to 76,000 (up 0.7%), but still accounted for the largest share of applications by region of origin (47%, 1.9% down on the previous year).
The EPO president, Benoît Battistelli, is clearly proud of these record figures.
If you have already subscribed please login.
If you have any technical issues please email tech support.
Gordon Wright, Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, Benoît Battistelli, European Patent Office, patent, US Patent and Trademark Office,
