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]