Increasing number of patent filings to EPO

According to preliminary data from the European Patent Office (EPO), the number of patent filings received by the office last year increased by around 3% to more than 273 000. This is a new all-time high and the fifth year in a row with growing number of filings.

Much of the growth is coming from China (+16.8%) and the USA (+6.7%). Japanese filings dropped (-3.8%) while European filings remained stable (+0.3%).