Samsung filed the most European patent applications

Demand for patent protection in Europe continues to grow, with more applications being filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) than ever – 266,000 in 2013, up from 258,000 in 2012. Applications came from countries around the world, led by the US (24% of the total), Japan (20%) and Germany (12%).

As in the previous year, South Korea’s Samsung was the company that filed the most European patent applications, followed by Germany’s Siemens, while Dutch company Philips leapt into third place from twelfth in 2012.

The technical fields with the most applications were “medical technology”, “electrical machinery, apparatus, energy” and “digital communication”.

The number of European patents granted also hit a new high, rising from 65,600 to 66,700.

Source: EPO