Companies and inventors from around the world filed 199,264 patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) last year, according to the Patent Index 2024 published today. The high level of patenting activity was on a par with the previous year (2023: 199 452, -0.1%), following three years of significant growth. Patent applications from Europe, including all 39 EPO member states, rose by 0.3%, while those from outside Europe fell slightly (-0.4%).
The United States maintained its position as the top country of origin for European patent applications, followed by Germany, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea. EPO member states accounted for 43% of filings, while 57% came from outside Europe (see graph Origin of applications). Notably, R. Korea saw the strongest growth (+4.2%), China saw a 0.5% increase, while companies and inventors from the US (-0.8%) and Japan (-2.4%) filed fewer applications.
Computer technology, which includes areas of AI such as machine learning and pattern recognition, led for the first time, with 16,815 patent applications in 2024. Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy posted the strongest growth last year (+8.9% on 2023), driven by advances in clean energy technologies, particularly battery innovation (+24.0%).
