Archive:Patent statistics

Data from March 2010, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

Intellectual property rights and in particular patents provide a link between innovation, inventions and the marketplace. Applying for a patent makes an invention public, but at the same time gives it protection. A count of patents is one measure of a country’s inventive activity and also shows its capacity to exploit knowledge and translate it into potential economic gains.

Graph 1: High-tech patent applications to the EPO by priority year at the national level

In this context, indicators based on patent statistics are widely used to assess the inventive and innovative performance of a country. This article takes a look at patent applications and grants in the European Union and some other European countries.

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Patent applications to the EPO by priority year at the national level

Patent applications to the EPO and patents granted by the USPTO

AHaving grown at a relatively fast pace during the 1990’s the number of EU-27 patent applications filed with theEuropean Patent Office remained relatively stable (within the range of 50 253 to 54 216) during the period 2000 to 2006. Among the Member States, Germany had by far the highest number of patent applications to the EPO, some 22 675 in 2006 (43.0 % of the EU-27 total). In relative terms, Germany was also the Member State with the highest number of patent applications per million inhabitants (275.1), followed by Sweden (243.2), Luxembourg (228.3) and Finland (226.3).

EU-27 high-technology patent applications to the EPO represented an increasing share of total patent applications up until 2001 when they accounted for 22.8 % of all applications. Their relative importance declined somewhat after this, as did their absolute number. From a high of 11 543 high-tech patent applications in 2001, there was a relatively slow reduction through to 2004, followed by a collapse in the number of high-tech applications, falling to 3 754 in 2006. This pattern was observed across the majority of the Member States and particularly for the larger countries or those countries with traditionally the highest propensity to make patent applications.

Luxembourg and Germany registered the highest number of high-technology patent applications per million inhabitants in 2006, the figures for both countries being around 20, while Belgium, France, Finland and Austria were the only other Member States to record double-digit ratios. The considerable reduction in high-technology patent applications filed with the EPO may reflect the length of patent procedures. Given the increasing speed of technological change and the rapid pace at which imitators are able to bring new technologies to market, it is perhaps not surprising that many enterprises increasingly choose to invest in continued innovation rather than spend time and resources to protect goods or services that may soon become copied or obsolete.

Data sources and availability

From 2007 onwards, Eurostat’s production of European Patent Office (EPO) data has been based almost exclusively on the EPO’s worldwide statistical patent database (PATSTAT).The EPO grants European patents for the contracting states to the European Patent Convention (EPC), of which there are currently 32 – the Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Monaco and Turkey.

European patent applications refer to applications filed directly under the European Patent Convention or to applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and designated to the EPO (Euro-PCT). Patent applications are counted according to the year in which they are filed and are assigned to a country according to the inventor’s place of residence, using fractional counting if there are multiple inventors.

In contrast, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) data refer to patents granted; data are recorded by year of publication as opposed to the year of filing. This methodological difference implies that any comparison between EPO and USPTO patents data should be interpreted with caution.

High-technology patents are counted following criteria established by the trilateral statistical report (drafted by the EPO, USPTO and the Japan Patent Office (JPO)), where the following technical fields are defined as high-technology groups in accordance with the international patent classification (IPC): computer and automated business equipment; micro-organism and genetic engineering; aviation; communication technology; semiconductors; and lasers.

Further background information on patent statistics can be found in the Patent statistics backgrounds article.

Context

Intellectual property law establishes protection over intangibles – for example, when a manufactured product is sold, the product itself becomes the property of the purchaser, however, intellectual property rights allow intangible elements to remain in the ownership of the creator; these intangibles include (among others) the idea itself, or the name or sign/logo used to distinguish the product from others.

Patents and trademarks are common ways to protect industrial property. Patents are a limited term exclusive right granted to an inventor, maintained through the payment of fees. While patents are generally used to protect R & D results, they are also a source of technical information, which can potentially prevent re-inventing and re-developing ideas. A count of patents shows a country’s capacity to exploit knowledge and translate it into potential economic gains; in this context, patent statistics are widely used to assess the inventive and innovative performance. Most studies show that innovative enterprises tend to make more use of intellectual property protection than companies that do not innovate. Enterprise size and the economic sector in which an enterprise operates are also likely to play an important role in determining whether an enterprise chooses to protect its intellectual property.

The use of patents is relatively restricted within the EU: this may be due to a range of influences: their relative cost; the overlap between national and European procedures; or the need for translation into foreign languages. Furthermore, the increasing number and complexity of patent applications worldwide has resulted in a backlog of pending applications, while the constant expansion of the human knowledge base makes it increasingly difficult for patent offices to keep abreast of technological developments.

The European Council held in Lisbon in March 2000 called for the creation of a Community patent system to address shortcomings in the legal protection of inventions, while providing an incentive for investments in R & D. In July of the same year the European Commission made a first proposal for the creation of a Community patent: this was discussed at various levels and despite a number of proposals and amendments for a Council Regulation during 2003 and 2004 no legal basis was forthcoming. In April 2007 the European Commission released a Communication titled, ‘enhancing the patent system in Europe'; this claimed that European patent systems were more expensive, uncertain and unattractive compared with patent systems in non-member countries.

In July 2008 the European Commission adopted a Communication titled, ‘an industrial property rights strategy for Europe’. This foresees the development of legislation, arguing that the harmonisation of patent law could make it easier for European companies to patent their inventions both within and outside the EU. On 4 December 2009, the European Council unanimously adopted conclusions on an enhanced patent system in the EU. The package agreed covers two main areas: firstly, agreement on the approach to be adopted in order to move towards an EU patent regulation; secondly, an agreement on establishing a new patent court in the EU. It is hoped that these measures will together make it less costly for businesses to protect innovative technology and make litigation more accessible and predictable. However, the creation of the EU patent depends on a solution being found for translation arrangements which will be the subject of separate legislation.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

KS-EM-10-001

Main tables

Science and technology, see:

Patent statistics

Patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO)

Database

Science and technology, see: