Patent Index 2024: R. Korea Secures Top 5 Spot for Second Consecutive Year, Proving Its Strength in Innovation

• European Patent Office (EPO) received nearly 200,000 patent applications last year, with 6.6% coming from the Republic of Korea
• Strongest growth globally came from electrical machinery, apparatus, energy sector, where R. Korea was leading country of origin at the EPO
• Samsung tops the EPO company ranking, filing more than 5 000 European patent applications, with LG securing the No. 3 position
• Korea recorded the highest growth rate in patent applications among the leading countries, with a 4.2% YoY increase
• Surge in AI and battery technology patent filings 

MUNICH, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The European Patent Office (EPO) published its annual Patent Index 2024 today, revealing that a total of 199,264 European patent applications were filed last year. This figure is nearly identical to that of 2023 (199,452), indicating that after three years of rapid growth, patent applications have stabilized.

Korea leads in patent application growth

For the second consecutive year, R. Korea ranked fifth country of origin with 13 107 patent applications filed at the EPO from Korean innovators, accounting for 6.6% of all applications filed. The United States topped the list, followed by Germany, Japan, P.R. China, and R. Korea. Notably, Korea recorded the highest growth rate among the top 10 countries, with a 4.2% year-on-year increase. In contrast, P.R. China saw a modest increase of 0.5%, while the U.S. (-0.8%) and Japan (-2.4%) saw declines. Patent applications from EPO member states grew 0.3%, and accounted for 43% of total filings. The remaining 57% came from non-European countries.

Major corporations driving innovation: Samsung reclaims No. 1 Spot

Samsung emerged as the top patent applicant in 2024, reclaiming the No. 1 position for the first time since 2020, surpassing Huawei. LG secured third place, while Qualcomm and RTX followed in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Among the top 10 patent applicants, two were Korean companies (Samsung at No. 1 and LG at No. 3), alongside four European companies, two U.S. companies, and one each from China and Japan. (See also "Top applicants from R. Korea in 2024")

Global and Korean trends: Computer technology takes the lead, AI and battery innovation on the rise

For the first time, computer technology emerged as the top sector for patent applications at the EPO overall, with 16,815 filings in 2024. This was spurred by strong growth in AI-related technologies such as machine learning and pattern recognition. Computer technology was also R. of Korea's third largest field for European patent applications. Among the top 10 sectors at the EPO the one with the highest growth rate was electrical machinery, apparatus, and energy, up 8.9% year-on-year, driven primarily by advancements in clean energy, particularly the sub-field of battery technology (+28.0%). Electrical machinery was also R.Korea's most active field, and thanks to strong growth (+15.8%), R. Korea became the leading country of origin in 2024. The country also had three companies among the top 10 patent applicants for battery-related technologies: LG in 1st place, Samsung 3rd, and SK in 7th.  Meanwhile, the digital communications sector, which encompasses mobile network technologies, declined overall at the EPO by 6.3%. It remained R. Korea's second most important technology field and saw modest growth.

"Despite political and economic uncertainties, companies and inventors from around the world filed a high number of patents last year, underlining their technological prowess and their continued investment in R&D," said EPO President António Campinos. "The EPO's patent data is a clear roadmap for industry, policy, and investment priorities – tracking global innovation trends and offering insights into European patent application activity across industries and regions." 

Unitary Patent gains popularity with Korean patent proprietors

The Unitary Patent system, launched in 2023, continues to gain momentum, offering innovators from around the world simpler and more accessible patent protection across 18 EU Member States with a single request to the EPO. Unitary protection was requested for 25.6% of all European patents granted by the EPO in 2024 totalling over 28 000 requests.

Patentees from EPO member states had the highest uptake rate, with 36.5% of their European patents transformed into Unitary Patents, followed by those from Republic of Korea (18.9%, up from 9.7% in 2023), China (17.9%), the US (16.0%), and Japan (7.9%). The top Unitary Patent requestors in 2024 were Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Volvo Group.

Further information

• View the Patent Index 2024 in full
• Explore and customise statistics in our Statistics & Trends Centre
• Access Unitary Patent statistics via our dedicated dashboard 
• Download datasets (MS Excel) in the Download data section of our statistics page
• Check patent trends on the go with the EPO Data Hub mobile app
• Read studies on innovation trends at the Observatory on Patents and Technology 
• EPO's support for SMEs, universities, non-profit organisations and other smaller applicants

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About the EPO

With 6 300 staff members, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 45 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.