The European Patent Office (EPO) has recently published the Patent Index for patent applications in 2023. In line with the 2.5% increase in 2022, last year’s data also confirm growth, registering a +2.9% equivalent to 199,275 applications. There is a significantly larger increase (28%) in patent grants compared to 2022: their value rises by 10 percentage points, from 42% to 52%. Among the sectors, eight of the most innovative ones have shown expansion.
The fastest growth was in electric machines, devices, and energy (+12.2%), a sector that includes inventions on clean energy and battery technologies. Positive values were seen in digital communications (+8.6%), as well as biotechnologies (+5.9%).
Medical technology (+1.3%), computing (+1.2%), and measurement (+3.5%), which includes sensors crucial for the functionality of many smart devices, are also on the rise. Among the applicants, the United States, Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea lead the way. There’s also overall growth for European countries (1.8%, equal to 43% of the total). Germany leads the group (12.5%), followed by Finland (+9.2%), Spain (+6.9%), the UK (+4.2%), Italy (+3.8%), and the Netherlands (+3.5%). Finally, the entry into force of the European Unitary Patent has had a significant impact, as 22.3% of the patents granted from June 1, 2023, have had unitary effect.
