The European Patent Office announced U.S. companies and inventors filed more patent applications in Europe in 2022, buoyed by innovation in digital communication and semiconductors

MUNICH, April 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the Patent Index 2022, published last week, the U.S. filed the most patent applications in 2022, up 2.9% compared to 2021. These figures represent the continuous progress and innovation coming from American companies and inventors. The number of patent applications, an early indicator of companies' investments in research and development, underlines that innovation remained robust last year despite economic uncertainties around the globe.

For the U.S., the four leading technology fields in 2022 were:

1. Medical technology: U.S. companies filed 5,866 European patent applications, ahead of German companies with 1,391 applications.
2. Computer technology: U.S. businesses filed 5,469 patent applications, making the U.S. the No. 1 country in the field.
3. Digital communication: American corporations filed 5,020 patent applications, making the U.S. the No. 1.
4. Pharmaceuticals: U.S. companies filed +5.5% patent applications compared to 2021, making the U.S. the No. 1 by far. U.S. companies accounted for 39.7% of all patent applications in pharmaceuticals.

The technology fields with the highest growth by U.S. companies were digital communication and electrical machinery, apparatus, energy, a field which encompasses inventions in clean energy technologies. In addition, U.S. companies filed 55.5% more applications in semiconductors, making it the top filing country in this field.   

Qualcomm is new No. 1 U.S. patent applicant at the EPO

Qualcomm advanced to be the top U.S. patent applicant and it also leads patent applications in the digital communication technology field.

The U.S. company Raytheon was among the top three applicants in the fields of measurement and transport. Alphabet moved up from fourth to third place among U.S. filers, and also ranked 4^th in the computer technology field. Johnson & Johnson, Intel and Apple also increased their patent applications in 2022.

California tops state ranking

The highest number of patent applications originating from the U.S. were filed by businesses located in California, a third (33.6%) of the U.S. total filings with the EPO. In addition, it is the No. 1 region overall for patent applications at the EPO. California is followed by Massachusetts, New York, and Texas. The four states account for over half of all European patent applications filed by U.S. companies.

Patent Index 2022 video news release available with further information here.

SOURCE European Patent Office