In the Top 10
The European Patent Office announced on March 28 that South Korean enterprises’ patent applications in Europe increased 10 percent to 10,367 last year. The number topped 10,000 for the first time and the rate of increase was second only to that of Chinese enterprises (15.1 percent).
U.S. enterprises’ applications totaled 48,088, followed by German (24,684), Japanese (21,576), Chinese (19,041), French (10,900), and South Korean.
In the category of electrical machinery, device and energy, South Korean enterprises’ patent applications jumped 67.7 percent in 2022 while those of Chinese, Japanese, and U.S. increased 47.4 percent, 19.9 percent, and 18.1 percent, respectively.
South Korean enterprises’ applications increased 96 percent last year in the field of battery technology. LG topped the list for the fifth consecutive year while Samsung and SK came in third and fifth, respectively. In digital communications, their applications increased 22.6 percent. In biotechnology, their rate of increase was 54.9 percent, highest among all countries.
Last year, LG’s patent applications in Europe increased 44.9 percent to 3,510, second only to Huawei’s 4,505. LG topped the list in electrical machinery, device, and energy, and came in eighth in digital communications. Samsung took fourth place on the overall list by coming in first in semiconductor, third in computer technology, and fourth in digital communications.