Published earlier this month, the Patent Index 2021 of the European Patent Office (the “EPO”) provides a complete and detailed overview of the patenting statistics and trends ongoing in Europe. Let’s have a look!

Firstly, the index points out that patent applications were on the rise after a slight decrease in 2020, with a record 188 600 applications filed before the EPO in 2021. After two years marked by the sanitary crisis, this seems to herald a return to normality for annual patent filings, even though it is noted that one third of the technology fields have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Secondly, technology fields in which the number of patent applications significantly grew in 2021 include digital communication (+9.4%), computer technology (+9.7%), pharmaceuticals (+6.9%) and biotechnology (+6.6%). On this point, the report stresses that ICT-related filings accounted for a little more than one third of all European patent applications, and attributes this trend to “digital transformation continuing to impact almost every area of life”.

Lastly, it is observed that filings from the People’s Republic of China have contributed greatly to the growth in patent applications before the EPO in 2021, filing +24% applications compared to 2020. As a result, China is now the fourth applicant country after the U.S., Germany, and Japan. Other Asian countries and regions performing especially well include Korea (6th applicant, +3.4%), Chinese Taiwan (19th regions, +7.7%), and Singapore (24th applicant, +17.1%).

The EPO acts as executive body for the European Patent Organization, an intergovernmental organization that was set up on 7 October 1977 on the basis of the European Patent Convention, to “strengthen co-operation between the States of Europe in respect of the protection of inventions” and establish a single procedure for the grant of patents abiding by certain standard rules.

Reference Materials: EPO - Patent Index 2021