The total number of European patent filings in 2010, more than 235 000, showed a sizeable increase of 11% over the previous
year, reaching an all-time high, far in excess of filing levels prior to the world economic crisis and even above the record
levels of 2008. The economic recovery has thus found its way into the patent world, too.
Almost 60% of all filings came from non-European states. The largest applicant country was the USA (26%), followed by Japan (18%), Germany (14%), and a group of three countries (China, South Korea and France) with around 5% each. The biggest increase in patent applications was in those originating in Asia.
The total number of patent filings included 71 367 direct European applications and 163 662 PCT international phase applications. About 79 600 PCT applications entered the European phase. The strong growth in direct European applications (+ 28%) is partially explained by the reaction to the new Rule 36 EPC concerning divisional applications.
| Description |
Download | |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics at a glance | PDF (45 KB) |
|
| Total European patent filings by country Number of filings in 2009 and 2010, broken down by country of origin |
||
|
EPC member states |
PDF (55 KB) |
|
| Other countries | PDF (50 KB) |
|
| European patent applications filed with the EPO Number of applications in 2009 and 2010, broken down by country of origin |
||
| EPC member states | PDF (50 KB) |
|
| Other countries | PDF (49 KB) |
|
| European patent applications filed with the EPO by technical field Number of applications in 2010 broken down in accordance with the International Patent Classification scheme |
PDF (45 KB) |
|
| Top applicants Ranking based on the number of European patent applications filed with the EPO |
PDF (38 KB) |
|
| European patents granted Number of patents in 2009 and 2010, broken down by country of origin and designated contracting state |
||
| EPC member states | PDF (56 KB) |
|
| Other countries | PDF (48 KB) |
|
| Five-year review | PDF (46 KB) |
|
