Annual Report 2015

Applicants

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Key figures 2015

Infographic 2015

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Top 25

Philips moved into the top spot in the list of companies with the most patent applications at the EPO in 2015. Samsung ranked second, followed by LG, Huawei and Siemens. The top 10 was made up of four companies from Europe, three from the US, two from South Korea and one from China.

  • EPC
  • US
  • JP
  • CN
  • KR
  • 1.PHILIPS
    2 402
  • 2.SAMSUNG
    2 366
  • 3.LG
    2 091
  • 4.HUAWEI
    1 953
  • 5.SIEMENS
    1 894
  • 6.UNITED TECHNOLOGIES
    1 869
  • 7.QUALCOMM
    1 705
  • 8.ROBERT BOSCH
    1 493
  • 9.BASF
    1 384
  • 10.GENERAL ELECTRIC
    1 316
  • 11.ERICSSON
    1 283
  • 12.INTEL
    1 039
  • 13.TOYOTA MOTOR
    1 034
  • 14.MICROSOFT
    921
  • 15.BAYER
    877
  • 16.SONY
    875
  • 17.ZTE
    870
  • 18.NOKIA
    866
  • 19.PANASONIC
    856
  • 20.JOHNSON & JOHNSON
    799
  • 21.TECHNICOLOR
    769
  • 22.DSM
    760
  • 23.CANON
    725
  • 24.HONEYWELL
    713
  • 25.AIRBUS
    667
  • EPC
  • US
  • JP
  • CN
  • KR
Analysis based on European patent applications filed with the EPO in 2015 (Direct European applications and International (PCT) applications entering the European phase in 2015)
Statistics are based on the first-named applicant.

Top 50

  • 1.PHILIPS
    2 402
  • 2.SAMSUNG
    2 366
  • 3.LG
    2 091
  • 4.HUAWEI
    1 953
  • 5.SIEMENS
    1 894
  • 6.UNITED TECHNOLOGIES
    1 869
  • 7.QUALCOMM
    1 705
  • 8.ROBERT BOSCH
    1 493
  • 9.BASF
    1 384
  • 10.GENERAL ELECTRIC
    1 316
  • 11.ERICSSON
    1 283
  • 12.INTEL
    1 039
  • 13.TOYOTA MOTOR
    1 034
  • 14.MICROSOFT
    921
  • 15.BAYER
    877
  • 16.SONY
    875
  • 17.ZTE
    870
  • 18.NOKIA
    866
  • 19.PANASONIC
    856
  • 20.JOHNSON & JOHNSON
    799
  • 21.TECHNICOLOR
    769
  • 22.DSM
    760
  • 23.CANON
    725
  • 24.HONEYWELL
    713
  • 25.AIRBUS
    667
  • 26.DOW CHEMICAL
    658
  • 27.PROCTER & GAMBLE
    657
  • 28.HITACHI
    652
  • 29.HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE
    644
  • 30.GOOGLE
    626
  • 31.NEC
    614
  • 32.TOSHIBA
    597
  • 33.CEA 1)
    592
  • 34.HALLIBURTON
    584
  • 35.BOEING
    581
  • 36.3M
    578
  • 37.ABB
    563
  • 38.HEWLETT-PACKARD
    548
  • 39.MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC
    544
  • 40.ROLLS-ROYCE
    540
  • 41.VALEO
    521
  • 42.CONTINENTAL
    511
  • 43.ALCATEL LUCENT
    474
  • 44.MEDTRONIC
    469
  • 45.FUJITSU
    456
  • 46.SANOFI
    454
  • 46.MERCK KGAA
    454
  • 48.UNILEVER
    434
  • 49.EVONIK
    430
  • 50.SAFRAN
    422
Analysis based on European patent applications filed with the EPO in 2015 (Direct European applications and International (PCT) applications entering the European phase in 2015)
Statistics are based on the first-named applicant.

1) Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives.

Shares in applications 1

A breakdown by category of applicants requesting services from the EPO shows that 69% were carried out for large companies, 26% for SMEs and individual inventors, and 5% for universities and public research institutes. This shows that a significant proportion of applicants at the EPO are smaller entities.

Shares in applications
Large enterprises
SMEs, individual inventors2
Universities and public research
1. Evaluation based on the analysis of a representative sample of patent applications treated by the EPO in 2015
2. This analysis bases on the definition of SMEs of the European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/

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