European innovation remains robust, with demand for patents sustained at a high level

The Patent Index 2024, published today by the European Patent Office (EPO), shows that innovation has continued to flourish, with last year’s filings on the same high level as the number seen in 2023.​

Companies and inventors from around the world filed patent applications at the EPO last year, on a par with the previous year (-0.1%), following three years of significant growth. Patent applications from Europe, including all 39 EPO member states, rose by 0.3%, while those from outside Europe fell slightly (-0.4%).

“Despite political and economic uncertainties, European companies and inventors filed more patent applications last year, underlining their technological prowess and their continued investment in R&D,” said EPO President António Campinos. “The EPO’s patent data is a clear roadmap for industry, policy, and investment priorities. As the Draghi and Letta reports warn, to stay competitive globally, Europe must enhance its innovation ecosystem and do more to help inventors scale up and commercialise their inventions, especially in critical areas such as green technologies, AI and semiconductors.”

Computer technology takes the lead 

Computer technology, which includes areas of AI such as machine learning and pattern recognition, was the leading field for the first time, with 16 815 patent applications in 2024. Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy posted the strongest growth last year (+8.9% on 2023), driven by advances in clean energy technologies, particularly battery innovation (+24.0%). Meanwhile digital communication, which encompasses inventions related to mobile networks, saw a 6.3% decrease.

Global and European trends

The United States maintained its position as the top country of origin for European patent applications, followed by Germany, Japan, People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. EPO member states accounted for 43% of filings, while 57% came from outside Europe (see graph Origin of applications). Notably, R. Korea saw the strongest growth (+4.2%), P.R. China saw an 0.5% increase, while companies and inventors from the US (-0.8%) and Japan (-2.4%) filed fewer applications. The ranking of the top ten countries of origin remains unchanged since 2023.

The number of patent applications originating in the 39 EPO member states increased again in 2024 (86 296 applications, +0.3%), although filings from the EU 27 member states were down (68 392 applications, -0.4%). European companies and inventors posted above average growth in the fields of computer technology (+5.9%) and transport (+4.8%).

Switzerland and the UK show strongest growth among EPO member states

Germany (+0.4%) and France (+1.1%), Europe’s top two filing countries, were up slightly in 2024. The strongest growth among the larger filing countries (with over 5 000 applications) was seen in Switzerland (+3.2%) and the UK (+3.1%). Switzerland also remained the lead country in terms of patents per capita, followed by several Nordic countries (see graph Patent applications per million inhabitants).

Further significant increases in the overall number of European patent applications were seen among European countries with over 1 000 applications, including in Ireland (+4.4%), Spain (+3.0%) and Finland (+2.7%).

Diverse sources of innovation: Large companies are major contributors

Samsung was the new top applicant at the EPO in 2024 (having last topped the ranking in 2020), Huawei dropped to second, followed by LG, Qualcomm and RTX​. The top 10 includes four companies from Europe, two from R. Korea, two from the US, and one each from P.R. China and Japan.

One in four patent applications includes a woman inventor

In 2024, 25% of all patent applications to the EPO coming from Europe named at least one woman as an inventor. Among major filing countries (over 2 000 applications), Spain led with 42%, followed by Belgium (32%) and France (31%).

Small companies use patent system to drive innovation

In 2024, 22% of patent applications to the EPO from Europe came from individual inventors or SMEs (companies with fewer than 250 employees), with another 7% from universities and public research organisations (see graph Breakdown of applicants by category). This highlights the patent system’s appeal to smaller entities, further strengthened by the EPO’s April 2024 fee reductions for micro-enterprises, individuals, non-profits, universities, and research institutions.

Unitary Patent surpasses expectations in its second year

The Unitary Patent system launched in 2023 continues to gain momentum, offering innovators simpler and more accessible patent protection across 18 EU Member States with a single request to the EPO. Unitary protection was requested for 25.6% of all European patents granted by the EPO in 2024, totalling over 28 000 requests – a 53% increase compared to 2023 (18 300 requests). Patentees from EPO member states had the highest uptake rate, with 36.5% of their European patents transformed into Unitary Patents, followed by those from R. Korea (18.9%) and P.R. China (17.9%) – which both saw a significant increase – then the US (16.0%), and Japan (7.9%). Top requestors were Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, Samsung, Qualcomm and Volvo Group. Smaller entities are even more inclined to use the system, with European SMEs and universities having an uptake rate of 57.5%.