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The number of patent filings at the European Patent Office (EPO) reached a new peak in 2012, beating the previous record set in 2008.
During last year, the EPO received a total of 257,744 patent filings from all over the world, representing a 5.2% increase over 2011 (244,934). 65,687 patents have been granted, which is 5.8% more than in 2011 (62,115).
Among the top ten firms were four European companies, four companies from Asia and two from the USA. For the first time, the ranking was topped by an Asian company – Samsung, followed by Siemens and BASF. Another company that has a stake in the mobile industry, Ericsson, took the 9th spot just ahead of China’s ZTE, which broke into the top ten for the first time, advancing from 43rd position.
Of all the patents granted, the lion’s share (49.7%) went to European companies…
[Via: Cellular-News]
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
