How are applicant names consolidated in the Data Desk?

Patent applications may include more than one applicant. To avoid double counting, the EPO assigns each application to the first named applicant. As a result, jointly owned applications are counted only once.

Applications filed by joint ventures are attributed to the joint venture itself, rather than to the parent companies.

For rankings such as the top 100 applicants, the EPO consults leading applicants to determine which companies within a group should be considered together. In addition, dashboards presenting top applicants or patentees group all relevant applications or granted patents globally and assign them to the country of the applicant’s or patentee’s headquarters.