About the EPOWith nearly 7&nbsp;000 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.&nbsp;

European Patent Office (EPO)

About the EPOWith nearly 7&nbsp;000 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered...

English (Belgium)

#374151

Rapid rise in battery innovation playing key role in clean energy transition

EPO-IEA Study: Innovation in batteries and electricity storage

Munich, 22 September 2020 – Improving the capacity to store electricity is playing a key role in the transition to clean energy technologies. Between 2005 and 2018, patenting activity in batteries and other electricity storage technologies grew at an average annual rate of 14% worldwide, four times faster than the average of all technology fields, according to a joint study published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

European Patent Office

SAVE THE DATE

Munich, 13 July 2020 – European patent applications for additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, increased at an average annual rate of 36% from 2015 to 2018, a new study from the European Patent Office (EPO) shows. This is more than ten times greater than the average yearly growth of all applications at the Office combined in the same period (3.5%). The report, entitled “Patents and additive manufacturing – Trends in 3D printing technologies”, further demonstrates that Europe is a global leader in AM, with European inventors and businesses accounting for almost half of AM patent applications filed with the EPO in the period from 2010 to 2018.

Europe is a global hub for innovation in 3D printing, new study from European Patent Office shows

Munich, 13 July 2020 – European patent applications for additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, increased at an average annual...

European Patent Office to launch new study showing Europe is a global hub for innovation in 3D printing

Munich, 6 July 2020 – The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a new, expanding “Fighting coronavirus” platform designed to help researchers and decision-makers benefit from patent information in their fight against the new coronavirus. The first data sets released on this platform concerns antiviral vaccines and pharmaceutical therapeutics, with more resources to be released in the coming weeks covering, for example, diagnostics and medical technologies and devices.

EPO launches new platform to help researchers in the fight against coronavirus

Munich, 6 July 2020 – The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a new, expanding “Fighting coronavirus” platform designed to help researchers...

Brussels/Munich, 12 March 2020 – Patent statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that companies and inventors in the transport sector filed a total of 9 635 patent applications in 2019, marking a 6.6% increase on the previous year. According to the EPO Patent Index 2019, transport was the fifth largest field at the EPO and one of the fastest-growing, with European innovators accounting for more than half of transport-related applications.

Innovation in the transport sector: European Patent Office reports growing demand for transport-related patents

Brussels/Munich, 12 March 2020 – Patent statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that companies and inventors in the...

Brussels/Munich, 12 March 2020 – Patent statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that companies and inventors from across the world filed more than 181 000 European patent applications in 2019, a new high and a 4% increase on 2018. According to the EPO Patent Index 2019, much of the growth came from a steep rise in applications in the fields of digital communication (+19.6%) and computer technology (+10.2%), both of which featured several European companies among their top applicants. In 2019 the EPO received more patent applications from nearly every major industrial region, with particularly strong increases in filing volumes from China (+29.2% over 2018), the US (+5.5%) and the Republic of Korea (+14.1%) (Fig.: Top 50 countries for applications).

Digital technologies drive growth in European patent applications

Brussels/Munich, 12 March 2020 – Patent statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that companies and inventors from...

Munich, 12 March 2020 – Patent statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that patent applications in digital technologies saw a sharp rise in 2019. According to the EPO Patent Index 2019, applications in digital communication in particular have grown faster than any other sector, marking a 19.6% increase on 2018. For the first time in more than a decade, digital communication took the lead in patent applications, overtaking medical technology, which had been the most patent-active technology at the EPO since 2006.The field of computer technology (+10.2% over 2018) also grew significantly. Across all sectors, the EPO received more than 181 000 patent applications in 2019, the highest number ever and a 4% increase on the previous year (See graph: Growth of European patent applications).

Digital trends spark surge in European patent applications

Munich, 12 March 2020 – Patent statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that patent applications in digital...

Munich, 12 March 2020 – Statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that the number of patents filed by companies and researchers in the life sciences sectors has grown over the past year. According to the EPO Patent Index 2019, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields both saw an increase in the number of patent applications, rising by 4.4% and 1.7% respectively over 2018, their third consecutive year of growth.

Life sciences innovation on the rise: European Patent Office reports increase in patent filings in 2019

Munich, 12 March 2020 – Statistics published today by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that the number of patents filed by companies and...