By Miranda Li

China remains the No. 4th country with the largest European patent applications in 2021, according to the European Patent Office (EPO). Huawei, OPPO, ZTE, and Baidu are among the top 25 applicants.

EPO released Patent Index 2021 on April 5, and the report shows that China is one of the countries with the strongest growth in the European patent application.

Figure: Top 10 countries for European patent applications 2021

Source: Patent Index 2021

The total number of patent applications to the EPO from China reached 16,665 in 2021, an increase of 24% year-on-year compared with 2020, a substantial growth among the top 10 countries. China's overall ranking is consistent with that in 2020 after the U.S., Germany, and Japan.

The EPO's Patent Index shows the changes in European patent applications per country of origin in the ten years since 2012. The patent share of Japan and Europe decreased, while those of the U.S. and South Korea have remained stable. China's share has jumped from 3% in 2012 to 9% in 2021.

Figure: Top 25 applicants at the European Patent Office 

Source: Patent Index 2021

Four Chinese companies entered the Top 25 applicants in 2021, making a breakthrough compared with 2019 and 2020. ZTE and Baidu broke into the list for the first time. The Top 25 includes eight enterprises from the U.S., ranking first, four from Germany and China separately.

Chinese companies Huawei and OPPO have been on the list for three consecutive years and have improved significantly in 2021. After being briefly overtaken by Samsung in 2020, Huawei re-topped the list in 2021. OPPO jumped from 19th place in 2020 to 13th place in 2021, and the number of patent applications increased by nearly 50%.

It shows that China's leading enterprises, represented by Huawei and OPPO, have gained a firm foothold in the world's top "friends' circle of the patent" and realized a positive innovation cycle, commented one industry observer.