Philips becomes second largest patent applicant at the European Patent Office

The FINANCIAL — Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG, AEX: PHIA) on February 26 announced that it is the second largest patent applicant in the world for patents filed at the European Patent Office (EPO).

Philips filed 2,317 patent applications in 2014, an increase of 26% compared to 2013 when the company held the third position in the annual ranking, according to the 2014 Patent Applicant Ranking announced today by the EPO. Philips is the top European based company on the list, overtaking Siemens which is now the third largest patent applicant worldwide at the EPO. The top 5 further consists of Samsung (1) and LG (4) from Korea and Huawei (5) from China, according to Philips.

Philips was by far the largest patent filer from the Netherlands, contributing to the significant growth in filings in the Netherlands by more than 9%, making it the third largest country in terms of patent applications at the EPO per million inhabitants. In addition, Philips ranks number 1 in two of the ten leading fields of technology at the EPO: ‘Medical Technology’ and ‘Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy’ and is number 2 in the category ‘Measurement.’

“We are very proud of this ranking and it represents an endorsement of our continued commitment to innovation as a company,” said Brian Hinman, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Royal Philips. “Intellectual Property is an important, strategic and value-creating business asset for Philips and our IP strategy aligns one for one with the overall Philips business strategy. Philips’ Intellectual Property & Standards organization provides world-class IP solutions for each of the Philips businesses to support the company’s growth, competitiveness, profitability and new business opportunities. Our current IP Portfolio consists of 71,000 patents, 47,000 trademarks, 92,000 design rights and 4,900 domain names. Impressive numbers, yet for us, the quality and value of our IP portfolio is even more important than quantity.”

“Demand for patent protection in Europe has been growing steadily, and is up for the fifth year in a row,” said EPO President Benoît Battistelli. “Europe continues to strengthen its key role as a global hub of technology and innovation for a growing number of companies from around the world. The rise in patent filings originating from Europe underlines the importance of patent-intensive industries as a solid base for the European knowledge economy: They foster Europe’s competitiveness, economic strength and employment.”