shutterstock_325225715_jpstock
12 March 2019Patents

Siemens retakes top spot in EPO rankings

German conglomerate Siemens has regained its place as the single most active filer of patents in the EU, knocking Chinese telecommunications company Huawei off the top spot.

The European Patent Office’s (EPO) latest annual report revealed that Siemens filed 2,493 patents in the jurisdiction in 2018, eight more than Huawei.

Last year, Huawei became the first Chinese company to take first place in the rankings, but 2018 saw strong performances from European companies, who maintained their lead with 47% of total patents filed at the EPO.

Patent filings from Asia continued to grow, however, with South Korean firms filing 13% more than in 2017. Chinese patent applications grew by 8.8% in 2018, although this marked the country’s slowest growth in five years.

Samsung, LG and United Technologies rounded off the top five companies with the most applications last year.

Overall filings with the EPO grew by 4.6% to 174,317 in 2018. A quarter of these originated from the US, more than any other individual country.

It was Denmark, however, whose companies posted the biggest growth in terms of EPO filings, with Danish companies filing 14.4% more patents with the office compared to the previous year.

In a press release, EPO president António Campinos said the results were “good news for the European economy”.

“Demand for patent protection continues to grow, which means inventors and businesses see Europe as an attractive and valuable technology market to innovate and invest,” he said.

Medical technology was the most active sector in terms of patent applications in 2018, accounting for 13,975 of total filings, marking 5% growth.

Automobile manufacturer Rolls-Royce was the UK’s single largest European patent filer for the fourth consecutive year.

Total patents from UK entities grew by 7.8%, above the average growth rate of 3.8%.

In terms of published patents, the EPO granted 127,625 granted European patents in 2018, an increase of 21% from the previous year.

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.

Today's top stories:

UPS on a high after court issues injunction against United Pot Smokers

Alibaba settles TM suit with cryptocurrency firm

English High Court delivers partial win for TQ Delta in patent dispute

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Patents
7 March 2018   A Chinese company has filed the most European patent applications over the course of a year for the first time, according to a report from the European Patent Office.
Patents
1 May 2019   The number of cases settled by the Boards of Appeal at the European Patent Office increased by 22% last year, a new report shows.
Patents
12 March 2020   The European Patent Office received a record 181,000 patent applications last year, with digital technologies taking the lead in filings for the first time in more than a decade.