Patently innovative

In a statement made on Friday, March 23, the European Patent Office (EPA) said that a record 244,437 patent applications had been submitted in Europe last year.

The 3.7-percent year-on-year increase was accompanied by a 6.9-percent rise in accepted applications. A total number of 62,115 patents were granted.

German electronics and engineering giant Siemens emerged as the most innovative company with 2235 applications handed in.

Siemens Chief Executive Peter Löscher on Friday received a special award for that achievement from the European Patent Organization (EPO), of which the EPA is the executive arm.

"We're proud to top the rankings again," Löscher said. "It's the best proof of the innovative power of our workforce."

At present, Siemens employs 28,000 people worldwide in its research and development departments. The company's annual R&D investment amounts to some four billion euros ($5.3 billion), the equivalent of 4 percent of its annual revenues.

Siemens beat out runners-up Philips of the Netherlands and Samsung of South Korea.

Asians are gaining ground

The European Patent Organization also reported on Friday that patent applications from Asia rose dramatically in 2011. Every third application, the EPO said, came from Europe's Asian competitors.

EPA President Benoit Battistelli said on Friday in Munich that he expected the number of Asian applications to exceed that of European ones within a couple of years. In 2010, China alone logged a 33 percent increase in applications.

"China is on its way to becoming a really innovative competitor on the global market," Battistelli said.

It costs some 4,500 euros to apply for a patent with the EPO. And in many cases, applicants have to wait several years before they know whether their patents have been approved or not.

hg/sgb (dpa, AFP, Reuters)