Surge in China-driven ‘green’ filings for space-borne sensing patents: EPO
Increase is more than nearly five times the average for global patent filings in all tech fields| European activity remains limited | NEC Corporation, Airbus, IBM emerge as top international filers.
Patent filings in ‘green applications’ of space-borne sensing have hiked by 1,800% between 2001 and 2020, more than nearly five times the average for global patent filings in all technology fields, and driven by China.
The European Patent Office (EPO) published the findings in a study publicised yesterday, October 6.
Remote sensing is broadly defined as gathering data on an area or phenomenon via a remote device.
Via satellites in space, remote sensing can “reveal long-term environmental trends, detect illegal activities, monitor industrial and agricultural production, and provide early warning in support of national security”, according to the study.
The EPO—working with the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) and the European Space Agency (ESA) on the study—highlighted the use of space-borne sensing for effective implementation of ‘green’ policy objectives.
These objectives include understanding climate change, enabling the green transition of economies and industries and protecting biodiversity, ecosystems and the environment.
Over the last 20 years,1,460 satellites have been launched for remote sensing purposes, addressing areas such as weather, science, disaster management, and security and defence.
According to the study, Chinese applicants have submitted the highest number of patent filings (mainly domestic), while US applicants lead in international filings.
“Plausible explanations for this trend are to be found in both space sector trendlines and in the evolution of IP protection worldwide. In recent decades, China has significantly extended its space programme, investing in various capabilities, including in satellite remote sensing systems and related applications,” said the study.
It added: “As regards publicly funded programmes, China has led the global statistics in the past few years, continuing the deployment of remote sensing satellites for meteorology, the military, resource management and other purposes. What is more, the Chinese space sector is increasingly engaged in commercial space-borne sensing endeavours, contributing to a worldwide trend.”
Meanwhile, European activity remains “limited and seems to stagnate in the global outlook”, with the majority of activity originating from traditional spacefaring European countries such as France, Germany and the UK.
NEC Corporation, Airbus and IBM are the top three international filers in this area.
The majority of patent filing activity is driven by patent applications related to signal processing (software rather than hardware). While there are 29,295 patent families in the space-borne sensing domain, there are 14,529 patent families which specifically cover green applications in this area.
These space-borne sensing technologies provide valuable tools in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, closely linked to several of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, said the study.
“This report underlines that space-borne sensing is a particularly suitable tool for ‘green’ applications, such as climate change, environmental protection or sustainable economy,” said the study.
It concluded: “An engagement in the green agenda at the global scale (but increasingly at the local level as well) could hardly be effective without relying on insights obtained through satellite remote sensing data.”
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.
