Dutch rank 4th in EPO patent applications

The European Patent Office (EPO) has released its annual statistics for patent applications in 2019. Of the EPO member states, which account for only 45 percent of the total applications in Europe, the Netherlands is ranked number four (8^th globally), submitting 4 percent of the total applications. While the number of Dutch applications has dropped 2.6 percent since 2018, the number of patents granted has increased by more than 14 percent over the same period.

The decrease in total Dutch patent applications is attributed to fewer submissions by some of the typical big names in the Netherlands. Philips, for instance, the most active applicant from the Netherlands and number eight in the world, applied for 1,542 patents – down 4.6 percent from the year prior. Another contributing factor to the dip was the shift from patent requests in the fields of biotechnology (-22.6), food chemistry (-15.6) and medical technology (-5.6) toward the digital communications (+19.6) and computer technology (+10.2) sectors, signaling the further transition into the era of digitalization, specifically lead by the release of 5G and developments in AI.

It certainly wasn’t, however, all bad news for the lowlands. Signify, the former Philips Lighting, requested 656 applications, an increase of almost 15 percent, ranking 3^rd in the electrical machines, appliances and energy sector. Other notable Dutch companies include semiconductor company NXP with 351 applications, a rise of more than 10 percent, and Airbus Defence and Space Netherlands, which submitted 530 applications, an increase of over 4 percent compared to the year prior. By region, North Brabant was top in the Netherlands and 5^th in Europe, accounting for more than half of Dutch EPO requests. South Holland was 2^nd, followed by North Holland, which pushed South Limburg out of the 3^rd spot it held a year ago. By city, in the Netherlands, it was Eindhoven, Amsterdam and Rotterdam coming in 1,2 and 3.