Recent reports show that the number of patent applications filed by US companies in the European Patent Office (EPO) reached a record high in 2018 and continues to maintain the US’s leading position in the number of European patent applications. It is worth noting that the number of patent applications filed by Chinese companies has increased by about 9% compared with 2017, and Huawei ranks second among all enterprises.
Gizchina News of the week
The European Patent Office revealed on Tuesday that in 2018, the number of patent applications filed by US companies against the bureau reached 43,612, accounting for 25% of the total number of applications accepted by the bureau in that year. German companies rank second with 26,734 patents. However, when it comes down to individual companies, Munich-based German company, Siemens AG, tops the pile with 2,493 patent applications to the European Patent Office. Chinese manufacturing giant, Huawei, comes second with 2,485 patents, while South Korea’s duo, Samsung and LG came third and fourth with 2449 and 2376 patent applications respectively.
Amongst American companies, United Technologies Corp. was the top U.S. filer, but its 1,983 applications were not enough to make it to the top 4. Another notable company in the top 10 is Qualcomm Inc. but its 1,593 applications could only earn it the No. 7 spot.
