EPO Patent Index 2024 Shows Increase in Computer Technology Inventions, Unitary Patent Requests

Source: EPO Patent Index 2024

On Tuesday, the European Patent Office (EPO) published the Patent Index 2024, the latest edition of the EU patent agency’s annual snapshot into global innovation through the lens of European patent application filings. The EPO’s report shows that total patent filings into the EU remained at recent highs with demand for newly established patents with unitary effect outpacing expectations thus far into the short life of the unitary patent system.

Overall Filings Maintain Recent Highs, U.S. Remains Top Country of Origin

According to the EPO’s key figures, the agency received 199,264 patent applications during 2024, a slight decrease of 0.1% from 2023’s filing totals. Despite the minor decline, EU patent application filings maintained overall gains since 2020, when EU patent filings reached 180,417 total. Countries of origin among filing applicants also largely maintained their status quo, as filings from EPO member states rose 0.3% while non-EU filings only declined 0.4%.

While 43.3% of 2024 filings counted in the report were filed by applicants hailing from EPO member states, the United States was the single most represented country of origin, representing 24% of all patent applicants at the EPO last year. Trailing behind the U.S. was Germany (12.6%), Japan (10.6%) and China (10.1%). South Korea experienced the greatest year-over-year growth in patent applications filed in the EU, with such filings from that nation increasing by 4.2% over 2023’s numbers, helping South Korea place fifth among all nations in this year’s Patent Index. Among EPO member states, the greatest growth in 2024 patent filings were seen in Switzerland (3.2%) and the United Kingdom (3.1%).

Despite the United States’ leading position among countries of origin for EU patent applicants, the top three companies in terms of 2024 patent filings at the EPO are all Asian companies. Korean consumer tech conglomerates Samsung (5,107 filings) and LG (3,623 filings) placed first and third respectively among all corporate patent applicants at the EPO last year, whereas China’s telecom giant Huawei claimed second-place with 4,322 EU patent applications in 2024. Following those tech developers were two U.S. companies: semiconductor developer Qualcomm, with 3,015 EU patent filings in 2024; and aerospace firm RTX, with 2,061 EU patent filings in 2024. The remainder of the top 10 EU patent applicants for 2024 include four companies from EPO member states (Siemens, BASF, Ericsson and Robert Bosch) and one from Japan (Sony).

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Unitary Protection Requested for One-Quarter of EU Patents Granted in 2024

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is reflected in the rise of computer technology as the top technical field for EU patent applications in 2024, the first year that particular field has held that position in the EPO’s Patent Index. In 2024, EU patent filings for computer technologies increased by 3.3% up to 16,815 filings. Electrical machinery, apparatus and energy, which placed second among technical fields in 2024 with 16,142 EU filings, saw the strongest year-over-year growth for the second straight year, increasing by 8.9% over 2023’s EU filing totals. Rounding out the top five technical fields for 2024 are digital communication (6.3% decrease to 15,983 filings), medical technology (3% decrease to 15,701 filings) and transport (3.5% increase to 10,026 filings).

Another key takeaway from the EPO’s Patent Index 2024 is the popularity of unitary patents among those filing for patent rights at the EU’s patent granting agency. Last year, unitary protection across the 18 EU states that have ratified agreements to the Unitary Patent Court (UPC) was requested for about 28,000 patents granted by the EPO, representing slightly more than 25% of all EU patents issued in 2024. Unitary patents have immediate effect in all UPC member nations and do not need to be validated on a country-by-country basis, unlike traditional EU patent rights. 2024’s totals were 53% higher than the number of requests for unitary protection on EU patents granted in 2023, according to the EPO’s Patent Index. EPO member states requested unitary effect for 36.5% of their EU patents, the highest uptake rate for any country or region, with EU small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and universities in particular seeing a 57.5% uptake rate for unitary patents.

Other findings in the 2024 Patent Index reflect modest gains being made in improving access to the EU’s patent system among underrepresented parties. The EPO notes that one-quarter of all patent applications filed at the EPO by EU countries listed at least one woman inventor, with 42% of 2024 patent application filings from Spain naming a woman inventor. Further, 22% of 2024 patent applications filed by EU entities were filed by SMEs or individual inventors, with another 7% coming from EU universities and public research organizations. The EPO touted fee reductions established in April 2024 as a major reason for increased filings from those entities.