Record number of European patent applications with Spanish origin according to the 2021 Patent Index of the European Patent Office

During the month of April, the European Patent Office (EPO) published the statistical data corresponding to the 2021 Patent Index, which includes the number of European patent applications filed in said office during the past year.

Number of requests

In 2021, a total of 188,600 applications were submitted, which represents a growth of 4.5% compared to the previous year and the highest figure to date. This growth was preferably driven by China and the United States. Spain, Italy and the Nordic countries also showed solid growth.

Spain ranks 17th in the ranking with 1,954 European patent applications filed by companies and inventors of Spanish origin in 2021. This figure is 8.9% higher than in 2020 and, furthermore, represents the highest growth rate of the last ten years for our country. Spanish patent applications grew well above the European Union average of 2.7%, reaching their highest number ever.

Technologies

At the European level, digital communication and information technology recorded the highest growth, demonstrating the digital transformation, followed by strong increases in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, underlining the high levels of innovation in vaccines and other medical areas.

In the case of Spain, health and clean energy technologies are the main drivers of Spanish innovations. Health technologies, grouped into pharmaceuticals, medical technology and biotechnology, represent approximately a quarter of all patent applications at the Spanish EPO. Clean energy technologies are included in the 'electrical machinery, appliances, energy' sector, which has experienced an increase of 22.2%.

It is also noteworthy that the 'engines, pumps, turbines' sector had the largest increase of all technological fields, this being +77.4%, compared to the previous year.

Applicants

Asian companies lead the ranking of European applicants, with Chinese telecommunications company Huawei being the top patent applicant at the EPO with 3,544 applications, followed by last year's leader Samsung and LG, both from South Kore

In the case of Spain, it is the research institutes and universities that play a fundamental role in innovation: six of the top ten applicants are scientific organizations and they contributed 64% of the total applications.

Spanish regions with the highest number of applications

Catalonia, the Community of Madrid and the Basque Country represent 64% of the patent applications filed with the EPO from Spain, with 653, 381 and 223 applications, respectively. In the ranking of cities (metropolitan area), Barcelona leads with 385 patent applications followed by Madrid (371 applications).

Source: European Patent Office

More information

Patent Index of the European Patent Office 2021

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