Press Release Germany Business Location Germany
Germany is the Patent Powerhouse of the European Union
German greentech patents are especially on the rise
A study by the European Patent Office (EPO) has confirmed that the EU’s largest economy leads the way in patents, trademarks and designs.
Oct 11, 2022
Berlin (GTAI) – Data from the European Patent Office highlights Germany’s dominance in practical industrial innovation within the European Union.
In a survey of intellectual property rights filings by country of origin in all industries, the EPO identified 67,163 patents, trademarks and designs from Germany. By comparison, the corresponding figure for France was 25,305. Germany consistently comes in second, behind only the United States, when it comes to EPO filings.
One particular German strength is climate protection innovation. 41.7 percent of all patents granted to EU companies went to German firms. Germany also accounted for 30 percent of all green EU trademarks between 2015 and 2021. That’s almost three times as many as the second-ranked country, France, the survey found.
“There are a number of factors why Germany is so far ahead in intellectual property rights filings,” says Robert Hermann, CEO of Germany Trade & Invest. “One is the strength of German industry in general. Another is Germany’s unique R&D landscape with its four massive extra-university research institutions, the Fraunhofer and Max Planck Societies, and the Leibniz and Helmholtz Associations.”
“Germany has traditionally been a pioneer of environmental and climate protection innovations,” Hermann added. “And this tradition has only been strengthened by the orientation of the current government.”
