EPO Statistics Show Increase in Unitary Patents

Since the launch of the Unitary Patent system on June 1, 2023, over 75 000 European patents with unitary effect have been registered by the EPO. Unitary Patents provide patent protection in 18 EU Member States with a single request, a single translation and a single renewal fee. Based on the average number of granted European patents per year, about one out of four European patents have been transformed in Unitary Patents. Almost one third of all requests have come from SMEs and 8% came from universities.

More than 62% of proprietors of Unitary Patents are based in EPO member states, while US proprietors are the first extra-European proprietors, amounting to about 16% of all proprietors. Based on cumulative data since the launch, the top three proprietors are Siemens AG, Johnson & Johnson, and Samsung Group. In 2025, however, Samsung Group became the new top applicant. Medical technology, Measurement, Digital Communication, Computer Technology, and Transport have been the first five technology fields in the last two and half years. More statistics may be found here.