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EPO patents

data publication
Science in Figures
10 June 2022
How many patents have been applied for and granted in Europe by 2022? How does the number of Dutch patent applications compare to the average of EU-15 countries (2009-2022)? In this data publication we provide information on the number of European patents applied for and granted and we compare the number of patents applied for with the number of inhabitants of countries.

In short

  • Most European patents are filed from the US, Germany and Japan.
  • Switzerland has the highest number of European patent applications per million inhabitants.
  • Between 2009 and 2022, the Netherlands consistently applies for more European patents than the average of EU-15 countries.

How many European patents are filed and granted in 2022?

Source: European Patent Office (EPO)
Notes: The number of patent requests consists of direct European requests (submitted to the EPO) and the international (PCT) requests that entered the European phase in 2022. The requests are counted based on the country of residence of the first applicant as stated on the application form.

Analysis
A large part of the European patent requests come from the USA, followed by Germany and Japan. A number of other non-European countries like China and Korea also have a large share of European patent requests, for example. Of all the European countries, Germany has the highest share of European patent requests.

The Dutch organizations filing the most patent applications in 2020 are Philips, Signify, Airbus, ASML, NXP, Stellantis and DSM. Many applications are made in the field of medical technology, electrical appliances/energy and chemistry. Patent applications for the latter field have increased by 39% from 2020 to 2021. 

How many European patents are filed per million inhabitants in 2022?

Source: EPO
Notes: The number of patent requests consists of direct European requests (submitted to the EPO) and the international (PCT) requests that entered the European phase in 2022. The requests are counted based on the country of residence of the first applicant as stated on the application form.

Analysis
When looking at the number of European patent requests per million inhabitants, the Netherlands holds fourth place. Switzerland has the most patent requests per million inhabitants. Sweden and Denmark also have more patent requests per million inhabitants than the Netherlands.
 

How does the number of European patent applications filed by the Netherlands compare with the average of EU-15 countries?

Source: EPO
Notes: The number of patent requests consists of direct European requests (submitted to the EPO) and the international (PCT) requests that entered the European phase in a certain year. The requests are counted based on the country of residence of the first applicant as stated on the application form.

Analysis
In the graph above, the number of patent requests from the Netherlands is compared with the EU-15 average. The Netherlands consistently requests more patents in the period 2009-2022 than the average of the EU-15 countries. There is a dip in the Dutch trend between 2009 and 2012. From 2017 until 2020 the advantage of the Netherlands over the EU-15 average slowly decreased. 

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