The European Patent Office has released a list of the top patent filers for last year.
The EPO says it received a record 181,000 applications in 2019, with the top five countries of origin being the US, Germany, Japan, China and France.
Huawei tops the applicant ranking, ahead of Samsung, LG, United Technologies and Siemens.
“The rapid rise of digital technologies is the most striking trend from our 2019 index,” said EPO President António Campinos.
“The digital transformation of the economy is now fully reflected in the patent applications reaching the EPO. With our well-established and globally recognised approach to examining applications in the digital field, the EPO is well placed to support inventors, and foster innovation in Europe and beyond. It is important that companies and researchers in Europe seeking to protect their inventions find a level playing field with their competitors from Asia and the US, and are able to maintain a strong position in the global technology market.”
You can read more on the European patent Office website, but here are the top 25:
1.HUAWEI 3 524
2.SAMSUNG 2 858
3.LG 2 817
4.UNITED TECHNOLOGIES 2 813
5.SIEMENS 2 619
6.QUALCOMM 1 668
7.ERICSSON 1 616
8.ROYAL PHILIPS 1 542
9.SONY 1 512
10.ROBERT BOSCH 1 498
11.BASF 1 366
12.GENERAL ELECTRIC 1 247
13.ALPHABET 1 196
14.MICROSOFT 1 112
15.JOHNSON & JOHNSON 973
16.OPPO 900
17.INTEL 818
18.PANASONIC 782
19.HITACHI 740
20.NOKIA 733
21.CANON 698
22.ABB 689
23.MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC 685
24.HOFFMANN-LA ROCHE 677
25.BOEING 661
Source: electronicsweekly
