The latest EPO report highlights how much emerging technology is
reshaping the industry and for companies wishing to define the next
generation of manufacturing, embracing this technology will be key,
says David Robinson, partner, Chartered (UK) and European Patent
Attorney at Marks & Clerk
The European Patent Office’s latest annual report,
published earlier in March, paints a picture of an economy being
reshaped by innovation. The report reveals that patent applications
to the EPO have continued to grow, and are up 4.6 per cent on the
previous year.
The UK also fares well in the latest report, despite ongoing
uncertainty around Brexit. In total, innovators from the UK filed
5,736 patent applications at the EPO in 2018. While the UK still
lags behind European competitors such as France and Germany, the
latest figures represent a 7.8 per cent increase in filings from
the UK. This compares to a 4.7 per cent increase from Germany and a
decrease of 2.8 per cent for
