Annual Report 2015

Granted patents

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Key figures 2015


Infographic 2015


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Total grants

The EPO granted approximately 68 400 patents in 2015, an increase of nearly 6 % over 2014, and the highest ever number.

Development of European patents granted over the last 5 years with regional breakdown
Development of European patents granted over the last 10 years with regional breakdown
Analysis based on granted patents published.
Statistics are based on the first-named patentee.

Granted patents per country of origin

Most patents were granted to European companies (53 %), followed by applicants from the US and Japan. The number of patents granted to Chinese applicants is growing rapidly, albeit from a low number.

Share of granted patents per country of origin in 2015Analysis based on granted patents published.
Statistics are based on the first-named patentee.
Country 2015 2014 Change
United States 14 950 14 384 3.9%  
Germany 14 122 13 086 7.9%  
Japan 10 585 11 120 -4.8%  
France 5 433 4 728 14.9%  
Switzerland 3 037 2 794 8.7%  
Italy 2 476 2 274 8.9%  
United Kingdom 2 097 2 072 1.2%  
Korea, Republic of 1 987 1 891 5.1%  
Sweden 1 939 1 705 13.7%  
Netherlands 1 998 1 703 17.3%  
China, People’s Republic of 1 407 1 186 18.6%  
Austria 1 041 891 16.8%  
Canada 756 855 -11.6%  
Belgium 866 723 19.8%  
Finland 744 633 17.5%  
Denmark 698 599 16.5%  
Spain 522 467 11.8%  
Chinese Taipei 440 437 0.7%  
Israel 397 399 -0.5%  
Australia 330 308 7.1%  
Ireland 270 254 6.3%  
Luxembourg 210 222 -5.4%  
Norway 259 192 34.9%  
India 186 143 30.1%  
Turkey 218 136 60.3%  
Singapore 125 127 -1.6%  
Liechtenstein 100 121 -17.4%  
Poland 150 108 38.9%  
Bermuda 57 88 -35.2%  
Russian Federation 77 79 -2.5%  
Brazil 73 75 -2.7%  
Czech Republic 74 66 12.1%  
Virgin Islands, British 39 62 -37.1%  
New Zealand 51 51 0%  
Slovenia 65 51 27.5%  
South Africa 59 50 18%  
Hungary 38 41 -7.3%  
Saudi Arabia 49 36 36.1%  
Mexico 42 36 16.7%  
Malaysia 22 32 -31.3%  
Cayman Islands 24 27 -11.1%  
Cyprus 14 26 -46.2%  
Barbados 43 25 72%  
Hong Kong 27 24 12.5%  
Greece 22 23 -4.3%  
Portugal 46 22 109.1%  
Malta 19 21 -9.5%  
Bahamas 19 20 -5%  
Iceland 28 15 86.7%  
Gibraltar 5 13 -61.5%  
Latvia 8 13 -38.5%  
Puerto Rico 2 12 -83.3%  
Slovakia 11 11 0%  
Lithuania 11 10 10%  
Chile 16 9 77.8%  
Estonia 10 8 25%  
Argentina 13 7 85.7%  
Croatia 6 7 -14.3%  
Bulgaria 7 7 0%  
Thailand 5 6 -16.7%  
Ukraine 2 5 -60%  
Panama 2 5 -60%  
Mauritius 8 5 60%  
Monaco 7 5 40%  
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines 1 5 -80%  
United Arab Emirates 3 4 -25%  
Egypt 2 4 -50%  
Romania 9 4 125%  
Morocco 0 3 -100%  
Cuba 8 3 166.7%  
Serbia 0 2 -100%  
San Marino 5 2 150%  
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of 0 0 0%  
Curaçao 12 8 50%  
Lebanon 0 2 -100%  
Colombia 4 2 100%  
Iran, Islamic Republic of 0 2 -100%  
Indonesia 1 2 -50%  
Ecuador 0 1 -100%  
Faroe Islands 0 1 -100%  
Venezuela 2 1 100%  
Peru 2 1 100%  
Senegal 0 1 -100%  
Philippines 4 1 300%  
Seychelles 1 1 0%  
Andorra 1 0  
Moldova, Republic of 0 1 -100%  
Kazakhstan 4 1 300%  
Kenya 0 1 -100%  
Armenia 0 1 -100%  
Algeria 0 1 -100%  
Belize 0 1 -100%  
Belarus 0 1 -100%  
Kuwait 3 1 200%  
Azerbaijan 0 1 -100%  
Uzbekistan 0 1 -100%  
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0 1 -100%  
Tunisia 3 1 200%  
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 0  
Uruguay 2 0  
Albania 0 0 0%  
Virgin Islands U.S. 1 0  
Viet Nam 4 0  
Qatar 2 0  
Sri Lanka 1 0  
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 1 0  
Analysis based on granted patents published.
Statistics are based on the first-named patentee.

Designations as contracting states

Country of residence of the patentee Patents Rate
AL Albania 34 923 51%
AT Austria 62 961 92%
BE Belgium 62 997 92.1%
BG Bulgaria 61 808 90.3%
CH Switzerland 63 184 92.3%
CY Cyprus 62 752 91.7%
CZ Czech Republic 61 847 90.4%
DE Germany 68 124 99.6%
DK Denmark 62 939 92%
EE Estonia 61 807 90.3%
ES Spain 63 617 93%
FI Finland 63 011 92.1%
FR France 67 352 98.4%
GB United Kingdom 67 069 98%
GR Greece 62 850 91.9%
HR Croatia 50 526 73.8%
HU Hungary 61 534 89.9%
IE Ireland 62 961 92%
IS Iceland 59 487 86.9%
IT Italy 64 862 94.8%
LI Liechtenstein 63 184 92.3%
LT Lithuania 59 353 86.7%
LU Luxembourg 62 832 91.8%
LV Latvia 58 262 85.2%
MC Monaco 62 813 91.8%
MK Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of 45 179 66%
MT Malta 53 907 78.8%
NL Netherlands 63 557 92.9%
NO Norway 50 540 73.9%
PL Poland 60 520 88.5%
PT Portugal 62 860 91.9%
RO Romania 61 365 89.7%
RS Serbia 31 090 45.4%
SE Sweden 63 205 92.4%
SI Slovenia 61 563 90%
SK Slovakia 61 811 90.3%
SM San Marino 41 761 61%
TR Turkey 62 538 91.4%
Total 2 252 951  
Analysis based on granted patents published. Statistics are based on the first-named patentee.

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