No Slowdown for EPO Patent Applications: Japan Ranks Third
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The Patent Index 2020 announced by the European Patent Office revealed that the number of international patent applications filed with it had decreased year-on-year by 0.7% to 180,250, second only to the record high number filed in 2019.
Japan’s applications to the EPO dropped by 1.1% from the previous year to 21,841, ranking third behind the United States and Germany. Its filings accounted for 12.1% of the total.
Number of Patents Filed with the EPO in 2020 by Country
| Country | Number filed (year-on-year change) |
|---|---|
| United States | 44,293 (-4.1%) |
| Germany | 25,954 (-3.0%) |
| Japan | 21,841 (-1.1%) |
| China | 13,432 (+9.9%) |
| France | 10,554 (+3.1%) |
| South Korea | 9,106 (+9.2%) |
| Switzerland | 8,112 (-1.9%) |
| Netherlands | 6,375 (-8.2%） |
| Britain | 5,715 (-6.8%) |
| Italy | 4,600 (+2.9%) |
Created by Nippon.com based on data from the European Patent Office.
By technical field, Japan had 2,009 applications for electrical machinery, apparatus, energy; 1,411 for transport; and 1,375 for digital communication. The latter, in particular, saw a strong increase, up 10.6% from 2019.
Sony remained the top Japanese company for the fifth consecutive year. Globally, its ranking has been rising, having placed eleventh in 2018, ninth in 2019, and eighth in 2020.
Top 10 Japanese Companies by Number of Patents Filed with the EPO
| Company | Number filed |
|---|---|
| Sony | 1,477 |
| Panasonic | 792 |
| Mitsubishi Electric | 647 |
| Canon | 612 |
| Hitachi | 582 |
| Toshiba | 419 |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 381 |
| Toyota | 373 |
| NTT Docomo | 372 |
| Ricoh | 362 |
Created by Nippon.com based on data from the European Patent Office.
Global Top 10 Companies by Number of Patents Filed with the EPO
| Company | Number filed |
|---|---|
| Samsung (South Korea) | 3,276 |
| Huawei (China) | 3,113 |
| LG (South Korea) | 2,909 |
| Qualcomm (United States) | 1,711 |
| Ericsson (Sweden) | 1,634 |
| Siemens (Germany) | 1,625 |
| Bosch (Germany) | 1,597 |
| Sony (Japan) | 1,477 |
| Philips (Netherlands) | 1,419 |
| BASF (Germany) | 1,305 |
Created by Nippon.com based on data from the European Patent Office.
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)