Record number of patent applications – Switzerland remains among the most innovative countries – News

  • More patents than ever before were registered in 2022.
  • Clean energy technology has experienced a boom.
  • Switzerland is among the most innovative countries.

The spirit of invention lives. The number of patent applications in 2022 was higher than ever before. A total of 193,460 new patents were registered with the European Patent Office (EPO). This exceeded the previous year’s figure by 2.5 percent. Switzerland is also among the most innovative countries in the world.

Who is the European Patent Office?


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The European Patent Office is an organization independent of the EU. Almost all countries on the continent have joined it. Only the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia regulate their patent protection independently of the EPO.

According to EPA President Antonio Campinos, more applications have been submitted for clean energy technology and other methods of generating, distributing and storing electricity. “The ongoing upswing in this area is helping to advance the energy transition,” says Campinos. Battery technology, for example, has experienced a boom. This branch saw a 48 percent increase.

Great ingenuity in Switzerland

Switzerland ranks among the largest Swiss economies in terms of the number of patent applications in 2022. With a total of 9008 patents registered, Switzerland ranks seventh. Compared to the previous year, this number increased by a good five percent.

nations

Patent applications 2022

Change to 2021

1. United States

48’088

+2.9%

2. Germany

24,684

-4.7%

3. Japan

21’576

-0.4%

4. China

19’041

+15.1%

5. France

10’900

+1.9%

6. South Korea

10’367

+10.0%

7. Switzerland

9008

+5.9%

8. Netherlands

6806

+3.5%

9. United Kingdom

5697

+1.9%

10. South Korea

5036

+1.8%

While the patent applications of the 39 member states of the European Patent Organization were roughly at the same level as in the previous year, Asian countries such as China and South Korea increased significantly.

Large companies apply for most patents

The Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Huawei also leads the ranking of companies with the most patents. More than 4500 patents have been filed by the Chinese group. Nevertheless, by far not all new innovations come from large companies. Around 20 percent of all patent applications originate from small or medium-sized companies with up to 250 employees.

The remaining patents are filed by universities or public research institutions.

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