Poland ranked 26th among all countries submitting patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO). The majority of Polish applications focused on medical technology, civil engineering, and organic chemistry, according to a press release from the Polish Patent Office.
On Tuesday, the EPO published its Patent Index 2024 report, revealing that the office received nearly 200,000 patent applications last year — a figure comparable to the previous year.
Member states of the EPO accounted for 43% of applications, while 57% came from outside Europe. The United States led the way in European patent applications, followed by Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea.
Poland secured the 26th spot in this ranking.
According to the press release provided to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Polish entities submitted a total of 692 applications — a 3% increase compared to the previous year. The Polish Patent Office noted that in 2020, Poland filed only 478 applications, showing steady annual growth since then.
The leading Polish patent applicants in 2024 included AGH University of Science and Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, and Ryvu Therapeutics. Several other universities also made it into the top ten.
Across all EPO applications, computer technology emerged as the most popular field for the first time, with nearly 17,000 patent filings. This category covers areas such as artificial intelligence, including machine learning and pattern recognition.
In Poland, the top technology sectors for patent applications were medical technology, civil engineering, and organic chemistry. Additionally, the fastest-growing fields among Polish inventors included electrical machinery, apparatus, power engineering, and other specialized machinery.
The Polish Patent Office highlighted that while one in four European applications features at least one female inventor (25%), Poland exceeds this with 32% of applications involving at least one female contributor.
“Despite political and economic uncertainty, European companies and inventors filed more patents last year, underscoring their technological prowess and ongoing investment in research and development,” said EPO President António Campinos in the press release.
In Poland, nearly half of all European patents granted to Polish innovators were included in requests for conversion to unitary patents. Launched in 2023, the unitary patent system continues to gain traction, offering inventors simpler and more accessible patent protection across 18 EU member states with a single EPO application.
The EPO was established to strengthen patent cooperation in Europe. Through its centralized patent granting procedure, the EPO enables inventors to secure high-quality patent protection in 45 countries, covering a market of around 700 million people. The EPO is also a global leader in patent information and patent searches.
Source:
