February 2, 2015 at 1:37 pm
Last week, the European Patent Office released preliminary figures concerning patent filings in 2014, and the numbers promise us a bright and interesting future! According to the report, EPO received more than 273.110 patent filings in 2014, an increase of around 3% over 2013, and a new all-time high.
The detailed figures will come at the end of February, showing us the state in individual countries and industry sectors, as well as a ranking of companies, but until then here is some interesting preliminary data (just a reminder, EPO base their claims on the number of direct European patent applications added to the number of international-phase PCT applications, whether or not these international applications subsequently enter the European regional phase):
The figures show that last year filings originating from Europe remained stable (+0.3%). There was strong growth from the US (+6.7%), which reinforced its leading position in the country ranking, and very strong growth from China (+16.8%). Korea saw moderate growth (+1.4%), while patent filings from Japan saw a drop (-3.8%).
Commenting on the figures, EPO President Benoît Battistelli said: “These figures are only a first estimate, but they confirm Europe’s continued strength as a hub of innovation. Demand for patents at the EPO is up for the fifth year in a row, reaching a new peak”.
It is certain that 2015 will bring a lot of innovation and, subsequently, patent filings for us to peruse, discuss and admire.
Source: http://www.epo.org/news-issues/news/2015/20150115.html
