EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE : APPLICATIONS RISE BUT FEWER PATENTS GRANTED.

Tech Europe, April, 2008

The number of patent applications in Europe increased last year to the highest level in recent history, but the number of granted patents was one of the lowest in the last five years. Statistics published by the European Patent Office (EPO), on 1 April, show that almost 13% fewer patents were published in 2007 than in 2006.

Last year, the EPO has received a record total of about 218,200 patent filings, compared with 210,600 in 2006. It started patent proceedings for about 140,700 applications (135,400 in 2006), but only published 54,700 patents. The previous year, 62,800 patents were granted.

The Munich-based office claims that it has to give priority to quality over quantity. "Large patent numbers are not necessarily indicative of growing R&D...

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