The European Patent Office (EPO) announced today that patent applications reached an all-time record in 2010, with an increase of 11 percent over 2009. According to a press release, 235,000 patent filings were received by the EPO in 2010.
Applications came mostly from the EPO member countries, with 39 percent of all filings, while 26 percent came from the United States, 18 percent from Japan, and 5 percent each from China and South Korea. EPO President Benoit Battistelli said the EU and the US were “nearly back to their levels of patenting of before the crisis,” and there was a “massive rise in patent applications from Asia,” led by China.
Medical technologies were the leading field of applications, followed by computer technology and “electrical machinery, apparatus and energy.” The strongest growth rates were recorded in biotechnology (+42 percent), pharmaceuticals (+20 percent), and digital communication (+11 percent).
In recent years, the EPO has made pronouncements about its focus on patent quality over volume of patents.