Annual Report 2015

European patent filings

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Key figures 2015


Infographic 2015


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Total filings

Filings are a preliminary patent application activity indicating the potential interest of innovating businesses from all over the world in the European technology market. In 2015, European patent filings grew again (+1,6%) reaching a new high of nearly 279 000.

Development of European patent filings over the last 5 years with regional breakdown
Development of European patent filings over the last 10 years with regional breakdown
Analysis based on the European patent filings 2014-2015 (Direct European filings under the EPC and international filings under the PCT)
Statistics are based on the first-named applicant.
Figures are based on data from the EPO and WIPO (for PCT filings) as available on 26/01/2016. The PCT filings for 2015 are therefore estimates.
EPO: the 38 member states of the European Patent Organisation, including EU28

Filing routes

The share of international filings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) has increased significantly over the past five years. In 2015, total filings at the EPO included close to 62 000 direct European filings under the European Patent Convention and around 217 000 international filings under the PCT.

Development of European patent filings over the last 5 years with breakdown between international fillings and direct European filings
Development of European patent filings over the last 10 years with breakdown between international fillings and direct European filings
Figures are based on data from the EPO and WIPO (for PCT filings) as available on 26/01/2016. The PCT filings for 2015 are therefore estimates.

European patent filings per country of origin

Roughly a third of the total filings in 2015 came from the EPO member states and two-thirds from outside Europe. The top five countries were again the US, Japan, Germany, China and South Korea.

Share of European patent filings per country of origin in 2015Analysis based on the European patent filings 2014-2015 (Direct European filings under the EPC and international filings under the PCT)
Statistics are based on the first-named applicant.
Figures are based on data from the EPO and WIPO (for PCT filings) as available on 26/01/2016. The PCT filings for 2015 are therefore estimates.

Country 2015 2014 Change
United States 65 754 70 681 -7%  
Japan 50 597 49 007 3.2%  
Germany 31 670 31 691 -0.1%  
China, People’s Republic of 31 504 26 437 19.2%  
Korea, Republic of 18 215 16 528 10.2%  
France 13 370 13 194 1.3%  
Netherlands 8 451 8 163 3.5%  
Switzerland 8 354 7 961 4.9%  
Swaziland 3 0  
Saint Lucia 1 0  
United Kingdom 7 095 6 917 2.6%  
Sweden 5 075 5 083 -0.2%  
Italy 5 034 4 744 6.1%  
Canada 3 264 3 543 -7.9%  
Cameroon 1 0  
Austria 2 486 2 503 -0.7%  
Spain 2 387 2 482 -3.8%  
Finland 2 371 2 544 -6.8%  
Denmark 2 318 2 341 -1%  
Belgium 2 381 2 305 3.3%  
Israel 1 925 1 834 5%  
Australia 1 822 1 829 -0.4%  
India 1 574 1 543 2%  
Turkey 1 090 1 013 7.6%  
Tanzania, United Republic of 2 0  
Singapore 1 029 1 005 2.4%  
Chinese Taipei 1 098 981 11.9%  
Russian Federation 788 993 -20.6%  
Norway 775 809 -4.2%  
Ireland 743 742 0.1%  
Poland 842 699 20.5%  
Brazil 604 640 -5.6%  
Paraguay 1 0  
Luxembourg 586 580 1%  
Libya 1 0  
Liechtenstein 457 412 10.9%  
Malaysia 271 322 -15.8%  
New Zealand 383 363 5.5%  
Saudi Arabia 364 437 -16.7%  
South Africa 319 323 -1.2%  
Mexico 300 298 0.7%  
Czech Republic 314 284 10.6%  
not classified 238 215 10.7%  
Slovenia 165 224 -26.3%  
Hungary 176 189 -6.9%  
Barbados 143 186 -23.1%  
Greece 153 187 -18.2%  
Guernsey 1 0  
Portugal 218 192 13.5%  
Ukraine 137 148 -7.4%  
Chile 173 145 19.3%  
United Arab Emirates 87 109 -20.2%  
Colombia 93 101 -7.9%  
Malta 113 89 27%  
Slovakia 57 80 -28.8%  
Thailand 116 71 63.4%  
Bulgaria 72 70 2.9%  
Cyprus 67 60 11.7%  
Lithuania 67 67 0%  
Croatia 36 56 -35.7%  
Estonia 58 55 5.5%  
Egypt 63 47 34%  
Iceland 59 47 25.5%  
Romania 54 44 22.7%  
Morocco 60 62 -3.2%  
Bermuda 47 45 4.4%  
Monaco 54 43 25.6%  
Philippines 35 37 -5.4%  
Virgin Islands, British 19 34 -44.1%  
Iran, Islamic Republic of 64 38 68.4%  
Argentina 39 36 8.3%  
Cayman Islands 27 32 -15.6%  
Latvia 55 30 83.3%  
Bahamas 14 24 -41.7%  
Serbia 31 21 47.6%  
Kazakhstan 26 21 23.8%  
Sri Lanka 14 21 -33.3%  
Costa Rica 8 12 -33.3%  
Qatar 16 18 -11.1%  
Hong Kong 62 17 264.7%  
Belarus 17 13 30.8%  
Indonesia 17 18 -5.6%  
Panama 20 18 11.1%  
Peru 18 17 5.9%  
Ecuador 1 7 -85.7%  
Uruguay 9 10 -10%  
Niger 1 0  
Nigeria 5 4 25%  
Kenya 13 9 44.4%  
Kuwait 4 8 -50%  
Tunisia 10 8 25%  
Viet Nam 19 7 171.4%  
Cuba 2 5 -60%  
Armenia 7 4 75%  
Algeria 10 7 42.9%  
San Marino 5 5 0%  
Seychelles 6 6 0%  
Uzbekistan 4 6 -33.3%  
Lebanon 7 5 40%  
Jordan 3 6 -50%  
Dominican Republic 3 3 0%  
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 5 -40%  
Bahrain 5 3 66.7%  
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of 2 4 -50%  
Namibia 3 3 0%  
Belize 1 5 -80%  
Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of 5 5 0%  
Senegal 15 3 400%  
Lao People’s Democratic Republic 1 2 -50%  
Pakistan 2 3 -33.3%  
Azerbaijan 3 1 200%  
Moldova, Republic of 7 4 75%  
Sudan 6 4 50%  
Mauritius 5 3 66.7%  
Angola 1 2 -50%  
Uganda 1 4 -75%  
Macao 6 3 100%  
Albania 3 3 0%  
Curaçao 4 2 100%  
Georgia 5 1 400%  
Gibraltar 6 2 200%  
Jamaica 0 2 -100%  
Andorra 7 3 133.3%  
Anguilla 0 2 -100%  
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines 0 2 -100%  
Palestine, State of 0 2 -100%  
Marshall Islands 1 1 0%  
Liberia 1 1 0%  
Benin 0 1 -100%  
Guatemala 2 1 100%  
El Salvador 3 3 0%  
Montenegro 0 1 -100%  
Vanuatu 0 1 -100%  
Cote d’Ivoire 2 2 0%  
Kyrgyzstan 0 1 -100%  
Madagascar 1 2 -50%  
Venezuela 0 1 -100%  
Syrian Arab Republic 2 2 0%  
Congo, Democratic Republic of 0 1 -100%  
Puerto Rico 11 1 1000%  
Yemen 1 0  
Trinidad and Tobago 4 1 300%  
Samoa 8 0  
Saint Kitts and Nevis 4 2 100%  
Rwanda 1 0  
Oman 3 0  
Ghana 1 0  
Brunei Darussalam 4 0  
Bangladesh 6 2 200%  
Zimbabwe 1 0  
Gabon 1 0  
Isle of Man 1 0  
Mongolia 1 0  
Analysis based on the European patent filings 2014-2015 (Direct European filings under the EPC and international filings under the PCT)
Statistics are based on the first-named applicant.
Figures are based on data from the EPO and WIPO (for PCT filings) as available on 26/01/2016. The PCT filings for 2015 are therefore estimates.
EPO: the 38 member states of the European Patent Organisation, including EU28

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