According to the EPO Patent Index 2023, Italian companies and inventors have filed a record number of 5,053 patent applications with the EPO in 2023, registering a growth of +3,8% compared to the previous year, higher than the European average growth of +1,4%.
Overall, Italy places 5th among the EU countries for number of patent application, behind only Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Patents for region
As was to be expected, Lombardia is still the first Italian region for number of patent applications, with almost one-third of the total. Emilia- Romagna and Veneto follow, ranking among the first 20 EU regions for number of patent applications.
There is still a strong inequality between north and south, with over 70% of the patent applications filed from Northern Italy.
Top companies with most patent applications
The first three Italian companies with the most patent applications filed in 2023 are Coesia, Ferrari and Iveco Group. Pirelli appears among the leading applicants for the unitary patent system, a new, simpler and less expensive way to protect patents, introduced on June 1st 2023.
Globally, Huawei is the company which filed the most patent applications in 2023.
More detailed statistics are available in EPO’s statistics and trends centre.
Growing fields
In Italy the field with the highest growth of patent applications are:
- Electrical machinery, apparatus and energy (15%)
- Handling and packaging (14,6%)
- Transportation (13,5%)
The field which grew the most, which includes the most inventions regarding clean energy, reflects the growing attention to sustainability.
Global trends
The main technological areas for patent applications worldwide are:
- Digital communication
- Medical technologies
- IT
- Electrical machines, apparatus and energy.
It is important to note that also in this case data related to the energetic field registered the highest growth, with +12,2%.
European prize: a finalist is Italian
To conclude this analysis with a final mention for an Italian excellence, Luca Rossettina founder of D-Orbit, who developed a system to remove “space trash” for the terrestrial orbit. He was the finalist for the 2023 European Inventor Award.