Surge in global patent filings for smart tech, reveals EPO study
Global patent filings for smart technologies grew at an average annual rate of almost 20%— nearly five times faster than the average for all technology fields between 2010 and 2018, according to a study released by the European Patent Office today.
The study entitled “Patents and the Fourth Industrial Revolution — the global technology trends enabling the data-driven economy”, looks at all international patent families (IPFs) related to smart connected technologies in 350 fields worldwide between 2000 and 2018.
Each of these IPFs represents an invention for which patent applications have been filed at two or more patent offices globally.
According to the study, in 2018 nearly 40,000 IPFs were filed for these technologies, which relate to smart connected objects and include the Internet of Things, big data, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI). These filings accounted for more than 10% of all patenting activity worldwide that year.
In terms of technology fields, the study found that innovation rose most sharply in the areas of connectivity and data management, an increase largely driven by the development of 5G. With nearly 14,000 IPFs in 2018 and annual growth of 26.7% since 2010, connectivity— which covers protocols, short and long-range communication—emerged as the largest of all the technology fields analysed.
Data management recorded an average annual growth of 22.5% since 2010, and in 2018 accounted for more than 11,000 IPFs. Smart consumer goods, including wearable technology, entertainment, toys, textiles, generated more than 10,000 IPFs in 2018 alone.
US leads, Europe growing but losing ground
According to the study, the US remains the world leader, filing for around a third of all inventions between 2000 and 2018, compared with Europe and Japan which each accounted for a fifth of these patent applications.
The US has reinforced its lead globally since 2010, growing annually on average by 18.5%, faster than both Europe and Japan—both of which experienced average annual growth rates of 15.5% and 15.8% respectively over the same period.
EPO President António Campinos, said: “Constellations of smart connected devices, faster wireless internet, big data and AI are transforming the global economy and having a profound impact across many sectors, from manufacturing to healthcare to transport.”
He added: "What we are seeing is not just an acceleration of the development of information and communications technology—it is a major shift towards a fully data-driven economy.
“While Europe is not growing as fast as other regions, our strength lies in the diversity of our innovation ecosystem, the strong performance of some of our smaller countries with their high levels of specialisation, and some innovative regional clusters.”
China and South Korea rising rapidly
Starting from very low levels in the late 2000s, activity in China and South Korea has increased, as both countries posted an annual average growth of 39.3% and 25.2% respectively from 2010 until 2018.
China’s and South Korea’s rapid emergence and the development of patent applications from other regions has caused Europe to lose ground, said the study.
Within Europe, Germany alone produced 29% of all patents generated by European companies and inventors between 2000 and 2018, more than twice the contribution of the UK (14.3%) and France (12.5%).
However, the average growth of innovation in these three countries between 2010 and 2018 has been well below the world average (19.7%).
By contrast, the fastest-growing European countries were Sweden and Switzerland, which posted increases in IPFs from 2010 to 2018 (22.6% and 19.6% respectively) that equalled or even exceeded the global average.
Several smaller countries, notably Sweden ( which filed 10.1% of all European IPFs since 2000), the Netherlands (7.7%), Finland (6.9%) and Switzerland (3.5%) are significant contributors to innovation in Europe, revealed the study.
Finland and Sweden take the lead in Europe when it comes to filing IPFs per million inhabitants (651 and 524 respectively over the period 2000 to 2018), a record comparable to that of South Korea (525).
The top 10 applicants in the period 2010 to 2018 accounted for nearly a quarter of all IPFs for these technologies. South Korean companies Samsung and LG topped the list, which also included four US companies, two European companies and one from each of Japan and China.
The patent data in the study also showed that innovation is concentrated in regional clusters around the world, typically in large urban areas with high-performing research and development institutions.
The two main clusters (Seoul and Tokyo) each accounted for nearly 10% of IPFs worldwide, and the third one, San José (Silicon Valley in California), accounted for 6.8%.
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