According to the European Patent Office’s 2025 Technology Board Report (formerly the Patent Index Report) released recently, the EPO received 22,031 patent applications from China in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 9.7%. China's ranking rose to third globally for the first time, with the fastest growth rate among the top ten applicant countries.
Overall, the European Patent Office received a total of 201,974 patent applications from around the world in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 1.4%, reaching a record high. The top five countries for patent applications were the United States, Germany, China, Japan, and South Korea.
The report shows that Chinese patent applications accounted for 10.9% of the total applications received by the European Patent Office in 2025. Digital communication was the field with the most Chinese patent applications. Additionally, transportation and semiconductors were the fastest-growing fields for Chinese patent applications, with year-on-year growth exceeding 30% each.
In terms of corporate rankings, among all companies that filed patent applications with the European Patent Office in 2025, China’s Huawei ranked second with 4,744 patent applications. China’s CATL ranked tenth with 1,305 patent applications, marking the first time two Chinese companies have entered the top ten list. South Korea’s Samsung ranked first, and LG and the Qualcomm from United States in third and fourth places, respectively. Besides Huawei and CATL, four other Chinese companies: Xiaomi, ZTE, OPPO, and Tencent also entered the top 50.
By technology field, the field with the most patent applications received by the European Patent Office in 2025 was computer technology, with 17,844 applications, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%. The report suggests that the rapid development of artificial intelligence is the main driver of patent growth in this field. The digital communication field saw the largest increase in patent applications, rising 11.4% year-on-year to 17,802 applications. (Mar. 24, 2026, Xinhua.com)
Overall, the European Patent Office received a total of 201,974 patent applications from around the world in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 1.4%, reaching a record high. The top five countries for patent applications were the United States, Germany, China, Japan, and South Korea.
The report shows that Chinese patent applications accounted for 10.9% of the total applications received by the European Patent Office in 2025. Digital communication was the field with the most Chinese patent applications. Additionally, transportation and semiconductors were the fastest-growing fields for Chinese patent applications, with year-on-year growth exceeding 30% each.
In terms of corporate rankings, among all companies that filed patent applications with the European Patent Office in 2025, China’s Huawei ranked second with 4,744 patent applications. China’s CATL ranked tenth with 1,305 patent applications, marking the first time two Chinese companies have entered the top ten list. South Korea’s Samsung ranked first, and LG and the Qualcomm from United States in third and fourth places, respectively. Besides Huawei and CATL, four other Chinese companies: Xiaomi, ZTE, OPPO, and Tencent also entered the top 50.
By technology field, the field with the most patent applications received by the European Patent Office in 2025 was computer technology, with 17,844 applications, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%. The report suggests that the rapid development of artificial intelligence is the main driver of patent growth in this field. The digital communication field saw the largest increase in patent applications, rising 11.4% year-on-year to 17,802 applications. (Mar. 24, 2026, Xinhua.com)