Automotive Industry Steers European Patent Growth

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The European Patent Office's 2018 annual report indicates that automotive and smart vehicle patents drove growth in the number of patents filed, especially from Germany and Ireland.

London, UK, Mar. 19, 2019 – 

Automotive and smart vehicle patents drove growth in the number of patents filed in Europe last year, especially from Germany and Ireland, according to the European Patent Office's 2018 annual report. In addition, Siemens overtook Huawei to take the No. 1 position in the number of patents filed, according to the report, published earlier this month.

The report indicates that the number of patent applications filed with the EPO grew by 4.6% last year to 174,317. The U.S. remained the top country of origin, accounting for 25% of total filings, followed by Germany, Japan, France, and China. Collectively, European companies filed 47% of all patent applications at the EPO originating from the 38 EPO member states, while the combined share of China, Japan, and South Korea grew moderately to a 22.6% share.

Siemens was the top patent applicant at the EPO in 2018 with 2,493 applications, switching positions with Huawei, which came in second. They were followed by Samsung, LG, and United Technologies. The top 10 was made up of four companies from Europe, three from the U.S., two from South Korea, and one from China.

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