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Filing figures continue to rise at the European Patent Office

Munich, 03 July 2000 - The demand for patent protection in Europe continues to flourish. In 1999, applications for European patents totalled 121 750, 7.4% up on the previous year. Of these, 50 240 were filed as European patent applications (+3.5%), while 71 510 (+10%) came to the European Patent Office (EPO) as Euro-PCT applications under an international filing procedure administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. 50.4% of the applications filed (1998: 50.2%) came from the 19 member states of the European Patent Organisation, with 28.3% originating in the USA (1998: 28.6%) and 16.4% in Japan (1998: 16.8%). In response to this trend the Office again stepped up production in all areas.

Increase in international filings

EPO President Ingo Kober sees the growth in international filings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) as a "clear sign of the global significance of patent protection". Nearly 60% of European patent applications now take the Euro-PCT route, the choice of some 40% of European and US applicants. The strength of demand for patent protection was especially evident in the Organisation's member states, which slightly increased their share compared to 1998. Germany did particularly well, its 18 190 filings (+2 073; 20.4%) representing the highest growth compared to 1998 (16 117; 19.6%); but the EPO also recorded a marked increase in European patent filings from France, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands.

More high-tech applications from Europe

There was also appreciable growth in high-tech fields, which account for just under 20% of filings with the EPO. In 1999, member states' share of filings in this area rose to 38% (1998: 36.5%), while the USA's share remained steady at 36% and Japan's fell to 21% (1.4 percentage points down).

Most applications related to medical technology (7 997 filings, +15.6%), electronic communications (7 891, +25.6%) and electrical components (5 927, +4%). The Office also registered rapid growth in data processing (+19.6%) and vehicle engineering (+16.2%), whereas growth in biotechnology was lower with 2 818 filings (+3.5%), of which 1 475 were for genetic engineering (1998: 1 382).

Growing workload in the grant procedure

The rising demand for patent protection was also reflected in the workload at the various stages of the grant procedure. Applicants filed more requests for search (127 300, +6%) and substantive examination (102 100, +15%), while the number of oppositions to granted patents was unchanged at 2 300 and fewer appeals were launched than the previous year (1 176, -65).

In the face of its growing workload, the EPO again stepped up production and handled more searches (115 800, +8%), substantive examinations (75 000, +5.7%) and appeals (1 119, +94 cases) than the year before. However, as the share represented by the international stages of the search and examination procedures also underwent marked growth, the EPO was unable to achieve its avowed aim of cutting the backlogs in these two areas. Owing to the binding time limits in the PCT procedures and to the consequent distribution of work, the number of granted European patents also fell, dropping to 35 358 (1998: 36 400).

Boosting efficiency

In the light of this situation, the EPO has redoubled its efforts to recruit staff and to boost efficiency in the grant procedure. Ingo Kober said he was confident that the measures taken would be effective, especially as the introduction of automation programmes had already resulted in greatly enhanced efficiency and reduced labour costs in the grant and appeals procedures. In particular, electronic capture of the Office's documentation, nearly 37 million documents strong, was greatly simplifying search work. In the examination procedure, electronic tools were making correspondence with applicants still more efficient. In grant and appeals, automation programmes had boosted productivity by 12% in the last five years. The EPO's intensive campaign to recruit and train more patent examiners offered further opportunities to reduce the backlogs.

In 1999 the EPO had a staff of 4 361 (1998: 4 041). With a view to further increases in the staff complement, it expanded its office capacity in Munich and at The Hague and also acquired new premises for its sub-office in Vienna.

Finances as healthy as ever

The Office's financial situation remains healthy, despite the major fee reductions which took effect on 1 July 1999. In 1999, the high demand for European patents meant that operating income climbed to DEM 1.32 billion (1998: DEM 1.24 billion), with an operating surplus of DEM 252 million (1998: DEM 235 million), and the balance sheet total rose to DEM 1.88 billion (1998: DEM 1.76 billion).