BRUSSELS, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Patent filings at the European Patent Office (EPO) hit a new record in 2013, with applications coming from Japan growing by 1.2% (2012: +9.3%). Last year Japanese companies deposited 52 437, or 19.7%, of all European patent filings (2012: 51 791), which ranks Japan No. 2 among all countries at the EPO, behind the US. It is the highest number of patents ever filed by Japanese companies within one year.
In the past ten years, patent filings from Japan grew an average 5.5% per year. Since 2004 the number of Japanese patent filings has risen by more than 60%.
"Demand for patent protection in Europe is up for the fourth consecutive year," said EPO President Benoit Battistelli. "This growth is also proof that companies from around the world continue to see Europe more and more as a premier hub of innovation. The strong position of patent-intense technologies once more underlines the central role of these industry sectors for employment and growth in the EU economy, and elsewhere".
Mitsubishi is the biggest Japanese filer and the No. 7 in the top 25 ranking of patent applicants at the EPO. With 8 out of the top 25, Japan has more companies in that ranking than any other country. (Besides Mitsubishi: Panasonic, Toyota, Hitachi, Sony, Fujitsu, NEC, Canon). Japanese companies stand out in two technology fields: Electrical machinery, where 25% of all patents applications were coming from Japan, and Transport technology, in particular vehicles, trains and aeronautics, with Japan's share being 22%.
In total the EPO received 265 000 patent filings last year, 2.8% more than in 2012 and a new all-time high. Japan and the US again had the bulk of filings at the EPO. Filings from Europe remained stable overall. Main drivers of growth in filings at the EPO were China (+16%) and South Korea (+14%), while filings from the US (+2.8%) and Japan (+1.2%) grew slower, but from considerably higher levels.
The continued growth in Japan contrasts with a drop in filings in other countries: Switzerland (-2%), Italy (-2.7%), UK (-3%), Germany (-5.4%), Belgium (-7.4%), filed fewer applications while Denmark (+8%), Ireland (+9%), and the Netherlands (+17%) were showing significant increases over 2012.
The EPO also granted 66 700 European patents last year, an increase of 1.6% over 2012 and the highest number ever. In total, 12 135 patents were granted to Japanese companies, 5.6% less than in 2012.
Samsung in the lead among applicants
The list of top filing companies at the EPO was again headed by Samsung (2 833 applications), followed by Siemens (1 974), Philips (1 839), LG (1 648), BASF (1 577), Bosch (1 574), and Mitsubishi (1 327).
