General

The outbreak of the new crown epidemic for more than two years has had a profound impact on all aspects of the world, especially social and economic activities. As the main body of innovation activities, enterprises must bear the brunt. This article presents the latest developments of German patents by sorting out the relevant data of the German Patent and Trademark Office in the past two years.

In 2021, the German Patent and Trademark Office will accept 58,568 invention patent applications, a decrease of 5.7% from the number of invention patent applications accepted in 2020. However, the number of applications for examination (substantive examination) decreased in 2020 due to the epidemic, but the number of applications for examination in 2021 no longer continued to decline, with 43,155 applications, remaining at the level of the previous year. Compared with 2020, the number of invention retrieval requests in 2021 will even increase significantly to 14,920, an increase of 4.8%. From these two characteristic data, it can be seen that the applicant's need to pursue the authorization of invention application has not decreased. However, many companies have abandoned some applications that were only filed as precautionary measures by assessing patentability in advance in order to save costs.

The German Patent and Trademark Office has significantly improved its efficiency in the past 2021 due to the expansion of its capacity, and the number of closed invention patent applications has reached a new high in 30 years. Overall, the German Patent and Trademark Office registered 48,489 inventions examined and closed, an increase of 16.1% over 2020. Among them, 21,113 invention patent applications were granted patent rights, a year-on-year increase of 22.0%. The number of rejected invention patent applications was 10,322, an increase almost equal to the number of granted patents. The authorization rate in 2021 (the number of invention patent authorizations divided by the total number of cases) is 43.5%, which is roughly the same as the authorization rate in 2020. Applicants voluntarily withdrew or terminated the review process in 17,054 cases.

The number of utility model applications in 2021 is 10,577, a decrease of 14.1% from 2020. The number of designs also decreased by 14.1%.

In 2021, the German Patent and Trademark Office has accepted a total of 10,482 applications in the field of "transportation" technology, with the strongest driving force for innovation. In terms of "engines, pumps, turbines", the technical field with the most traditional applications, the decline was very obvious, with a drop of 15.1%. The reason is mainly the technological change in the automotive industry from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. On the one hand fewer invention applications have been filed with regard to internal combustion engines, while on the other hand significantly more patent applications have been filed in the various technical fields related to electric vehicles. A small number of areas applying for R&D growth include the technical field of "electric machines, electrical devices, electrical energy", and "batteries and fuel cells" are also included in this technical field. Especially in the area of batteries and fuel cells, the number of invention patent applications received by the German Patent and Trademark Office in 2021 increased by 20.2%.

Compared with 2020, when the number of applications in the first year of the outbreak of the new crown epidemic increased extremely and reached a peak, the number of applications in the medical technology field and other consumable technology fields in 2021 decreased significantly by 17.0% and 26.0% respectively. The medical field mainly involves the field of disinfection and sterilization technology, and the other consumables field mainly involves the field of protective clothing and face shields.

In 2020, Asian countries will conquer cities in this key technology, and the driving force of innovation is obviously greater than that of Germany. Companies from China and South Korea are increasingly gaining ground on key digital technologies in European markets such as Germany. In the selected digital technology field, the two Asian countries showed the strongest growth relative to the previous year among the countries with the highest filings in terms of patent applications published in 2020 and valid for Germany. While the U.S. continues to lead in all areas, China is a close second in digital communications technology, including applications for future-proof 5G technology. The number of Chinese applications increased by 29.1% over 2019, the largest increase in this field to date. In computer technology, which includes artificial intelligence inventions, South Korea made the biggest leap, with a 25% increase, while China increased by 18.8%. Germany is showing an uptick in many fields, but the top-ranked applicants hardly include domestic applicants in the German market. Overall, applications for digital communication technology (+91.1%) and computer technology (+74.7%) have grown rapidly over the past 10 years.

With the authorization of patents, especially high-value invention patents, companies are more attractive to investors, more conducive to cooperation, and can increase product added value and sales. This not only enhances the competitiveness of enterprises, but also gives them greater planning security and more flexible and autonomous options in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. In the post-COVID-19 era, if companies want to remain invincible in the fierce market competition, they need to aim at the direction of research and development, master advanced technologies, and make patent layout accordingly.