Slovenia's patent application growth exceeds EU average, one-third involve women inventors
European Patent Office received nearly 200,000 applications last year
Last year, companies and inventors from around the world submitted 199,264 patent applications to the EPO. Following three years of notable growth, patent activity remained stable compared to the previous year, with 199,452 applications submitted in 2023 – a marginal decrease of 0.1%. Patent applications from Europe, including all 39 member states of the European Patent Organisation, increased by 0.3%, while those from non-European countries declined by 0.4%.
"Despite political and economic uncertainties, European companies and inventors increased their patent filings last year, underscoring their technological strength and continued investment in research and development," said António Campinos, President of the EPO, at the launch of the Patent Index.
Most Slovenian inventions focus on electrical machinery, energy and transport
Slovenia has experienced consistent growth in patent applications over the past three years, with a 2% increase in 2024 – significantly outperforming the EU average of –0.4%. The leading technical field for Slovenian patent applications was electrical machinery, apparatus and energy (18 applications), followed by transport (17), pharmaceuticals (13), organic fine chemistry and chemical engineering (11 applications each).
Among Slovenian applicants, Krka (14 applications), Pipistrel (11 applications) and the National Institute of Chemistry (10 applications) were the most active. With a total of 156 applications in 2024, Slovenia ranked 34th in the EPO rankings, improving from 37th place in 2023.
One-third of Slovenian patent applications involve a woman inventor
In 2024, 33% of all patent applications from Slovenia involved at least one woman inventor, surpassing the 25% average among EPO member states.
Global and European trends
In 2024, the United States remained the leading country of origin for European patent applications at the EPO, followed by Germany, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea. EPO member states accounted for 43% of all applications, while 57% originated from non-European countries. Among major applicants, the Republic of Korea recorded the highest growth in applications (+4.2%), while China saw a moderate increase (+0.5%). In contrast, patent applications from the US (–0.8%) and Japan (–2.4%) declined.
In 2024, computer technology, including AI-related inventions, became the leading field for European patent applications for the first time, with 16,815 filings. The strongest growth (+8.9% compared to 2023) was recorded in electrical machinery, apparatus and energy, driven by clean energy innovations, particularly in battery technology (+24%).
Different sources of innovation: large companies as key contributors
In 2024, Samsung reclaimed the top spot as the leading applicant at the EPO, having last held this position in 2020. Huawei dropped to second place, followed by LG, Qualcomm and RTX. The top 10 applicants included four European companies, two from the Republic of Korea, two from the US, and one each from China and Japan. Notably, 2024 marked the first year in which no European company featured among the top five at the EPO. However, nine European companies were ranked among the top 25, two more than in 2023.
Almost one in four patent applications originating from Europe were filed by a small company
In 2024, 22% of all European-origin patent applications came from individual inventors or SMEs (companies with fewer than 250 employees). Additionally, 7% of applications were filed by universities and public research organisations. This highlights the continued importance of patents for small entities, a trend reinforced by the EPO's fee reductions for micro-enterprises, individuals, non-profit organisations, universities and research institutions, introduced in April 2024.
The European patent with unitary effect exceeds expectations for the second year
Introduced in 2023, the European patent with unitary effect continues to gain traction, offering innovators a simplified and more accessible patent protection system across 18 EU member states through a single request to the EPO. In 2024, unitary protection was requested for 25.6% of all European patents granted by the EPO, amounting to more than 28,000 requests. Patent proprietors from EPO member states had the highest conversion rate, with 36.5% of their European patents converted into unitary patents. Slovenian patent proprietors recorded an even higher conversion rate of 56.7%. By contrast, lower conversion rates were observed among patent proprietors from the Republic of Korea (18.9%), China (17.9%), the USA (16.0%) and Japan (7.9%). The largest applicants for unitary patents in 2024 included Johnson & Johnson, Siemens, Samsung, Qualcomm and the Volvo Group. Importantly, smaller entities demonstrated a strong preference for the unitary patent system, with European SMEs and universities achieving a conversion rate of 57.5%.
About the EPO
With 6,300 employees, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich, with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was established to strengthen patent cooperation across Europe. Through its centralised patent granting process, inventors can secure high-quality patent protection in up to 45 countries, covering a market of approximately 700 million people. The EPO is also the global leader in patent information and patent searches.
The full Patent Index 2024 report is available on the EPO website.