German conglomerate Siemens has regained its place as the single most active filer of patents in the EU, knocking Chinese telecommunications company Huawei off the top spot. The European Patent Office's (EPO) latest annual report revealed that Siemens filed 2,493 patents in the jurisdiction in 2018, eight more than Huawei. Last year, Huawei became the first Chinese company to take first place in the rankings, but 2018 saw strong performances from European companies, who maintained their lead with 47% of total patents filed at the EPO. Overall filings with the EPO grew by 4.6% to 174,317 in 2018. A quarter of these originated from the US, more than any other individual country. It was Denmark, however, whose companies posted the biggest growth in terms of EPO filings, with Danish companies filing 14.4% more patents with the office compared to the previous year. In a press release, EPO president António Campinos said the results were "good news for the European economy". Medical technology was the most active sector in terms of patent applications in 2018, accounting for 13,975 of total filings, marking 5% growth. Automobile manufacturer Rolls-Royce was the UK's single largest European patent filer for the fourth consecutive year. Total patents from UK entities grew by 7.8%, above the average growth rate of 3.8%. In terms of published patents, the EPO granted 127,625 granted European patents in 2018, an increase of 21% from the previous year.

Source: www.worldipreview.com