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According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, the outbreak of the COVID-19 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 trends of German patents by combing the relevant data on patents of the German Patent and Trademark Office in the past two years.

In 2021, the German Patent and Trademark Office will accept 58568 invention patent applications, which is 5.7% less than that in 2020. However, the number of application for examination (substantive examination) requests will decrease in 2020 due to the epidemic situation, but in 2021, the number of application for examination will no longer continue to decline. The number is 43155, which remains at the level of the previous year. Compared with 2020, the number of invention retrieval requests in 2021 will even increase significantly to 14920, an increase of 4.8%. It can be seen from these two characteristic data that the demand of the applicant for invention application authorization has not decreased. However, many enterprises give up some applications only for preventive submission through prior evaluation of patentability in order to save costs.

According to the observation of Huacheng import and export data, the efficiency of the German Patent and Trademark Office has been significantly improved in the past 2021 due to the expansion of its staff, and the number of invention patent applications has reached a new high in the past 30 years. On the whole, the German Patent and Trademark Office registered 48489 invention cases, an increase of 16.1% over 2020. Among them, 21113 invention patent applications were granted patent rights, with a year-on-year growth of 22.0%. The number of rejected invention patent applications was 10322, increasing almost as much as the number of authorized patents. The authorization rate (the number of invention patents authorized divided by the number of summary cases) in 2021 is 43.5%, which is roughly equivalent to the authorization rate in 2020. The applicant voluntarily withdrew or terminated the examination procedures of 17054 cases.

In 2021, the number of applications for utility models will be 10577, 14.1% less than that in 2020. The number of designs also decreased by 14.1%.

In 2021, the German Patent and Trademark Office accepted a total of 10,482 applications in the field of "transportation" technology, with the strongest innovation momentum. In the field of "engine, pump and turbine", which has the most traditional applications, the decline is very obvious, with a decline of 15.1%. The main reason is the technological change from internal combustion engine to electric vehicle in the automotive industry. On the one hand, fewer invention applications for internal combustion engines have been submitted, on the other hand, more patent applications have been submitted in various technical fields related to electric vehicles. A small number of fields applied for R&D growth include the technical field of "motors, electrical devices, electric energy", and "batteries and fuel cells" are also included in this technical field. Especially in the field of batteries and fuel cells, the number of invention patent applications accepted by the German Patent and Trademark Office in 2021 increased by 20.2%. Huacheng's import and export data observation report.

Compared with 2020, the first year of the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, when the number of applications grew 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 other consumables mainly involve the field of protective clothing and masks.

According to the observation of Huacheng import and export data, Asian countries will make strategic breakthroughs in this key technology in 2020, and their innovation momentum will be significantly greater than that of Germany. Enterprises from China and South Korea are increasingly making progress in key digital technologies in European markets such as Germany. In the selected digital technology field, these two Asian countries have shown the strongest growth momentum in terms of patent applications that will be published in 2020 and are valid for Germany compared with the previous year among the countries with the highest number of applications. Although the United States continues to lead in all fields, China follows closely in digital communication technology, including applications for future 5G technology. The number of applications from China increased by 29.1% over 2019, the largest growth in this field so far. In terms of computer technology including artificial intelligence invention, South Korea has made the biggest leap, with an increase of 25%, while China has increased by 18.8%. Germany has risen in many fields, but the top applicants almost do not include domestic applicants in the German market. In general, in the past 10 years, the number of applications for digital communication technology (+91.1%) and computer technology (+74.7%) has increased rapidly.

With the authorization of patents, especially high-value invention patents, enterprises are more attractive to investors, more conducive to cooperation, and can also improve the added value and sales of products. This not only enhanced the competitiveness of enterprises, but also gave enterprises higher planning security and more flexible independent choices in the COVID-19 crisis. In the post COVID-19 era, if enterprises want to remain invincible in the fierce market competition, they need to aim at the direction of research and development, master advanced technology, and do a good job in patent layout, Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report.