Top 10 technical fields
This page shows the number of European patent applications1 filed with the EPO for the ten technology fields2 with the largest number of applications in 2024. These top ten fields represented almost 57% of the total number of European applications filed in 2024. Each technology field has its own page providing an analysis of the geographic origin of the files. The geographic origin is based on the country of residence of the first applicant listed on the application form (first-named applicant principle3). The pages also rank the largest applicants4 in each field.
1
Computer technology
16 815
+3,3%
2
Electrical machinery
16 142
+8,9%
3
Digital communication
15 983
-6,3%
4
Medical technology
15 701
-3,0%
5
Transport
10 026
+3,5%
6
Measurement
9 601
-0,5%
7
Biotechnology
8 479
+5,4%
8
Pharmaceuticals
8 359
-13,2%
9
Other special machines
6 258
-4,6%
10
Organic fine chemistry
6 092
+1,5%
Source: EPO.
Status: 3.2.2025.
1 European patent applications include direct European applications and international (PCT) applications that entered the European phase during the reporting period.
2 The definition of the fields is based on the WIPO IPC technology concordance. The table is available at: http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/ipstats/en/statistics/patents/xls/ipc_technology.xls.