Korea Ranks First Among Top 5 Patent Applicants in Europe... "Notable in Battery Sector"

South Korea ranked fifth among countries that filed patent applications with the European Patent Office (EPO). In the field of patent applications, the strong performance of Samsung and LG was a key factor in the corporate rankings.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) announced on the 26th that, according to the EPO's recently released "Patent Index 2023," South Korea entered the top five countries for the first time in history based on last year's patent applications filed with the EPO.

Data on patent application status by country and company announced by the European Patent Office through the 'Patent Index 2023'. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

Last year, Korean companies filed a record high of 12,575 patent applications with the EPO. The year-on-year growth rate was 21%, ranking first, significantly higher than other countries. Over the past three years, the number of patent applications filed by Korean companies with the EPO were 9,421 in 2021, 10,389 in 2022, and 12,575 last year.

Among the top 10 companies at the EPO, there were two companies each from South Korea, the United States, and Germany, and one company each from Japan, China, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Huawei ranked first, closely followed by Samsung (2nd) and LG (3rd). Following Korean companies, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Siemens, RTX, BASF, Philips, and Sony were also ranked within the top 10.

In terms of patent application status, Korean companies stood out in the battery sector. In the detailed technology rankings, South Korea ranked second in electrical machinery, apparatus, energy including secondary batteries, and semiconductor fields. Considering that these fields are recently recognized as key technologies determining national competitiveness, KIPO emphasized that this is a very encouraging situation.

Above all, in the battery sector, a detailed technology within the electrical machinery, apparatus, and energy field, South Korea showed strong performance led by companies such as LG (1st), Samsung (3rd), and SK (5th). This demonstrates that Korean companies are also excelling in the battery sector overseas.

KIPO plans to accelerate patent examinations in the semiconductor and secondary battery fields while supporting companies through high-quality examinations in line with the EPO's patent index announcement.

Kim Si-hyung, Acting Commissioner of KIPO, stated, "KIPO will spare no effort to ensure that domestic companies' efforts to secure patent rights bear effective fruit," adding, "We will provide high-quality examination services internally and maintain close cooperation with overseas intellectual property organizations such as the EPO in the examination field."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.