Siemens – followed by Robert Bosch and BASF – submitted more European patentapplications than any other German company in fiscal 2017. In addition, amongcompanies worldwide that filed European patent applications in 2017, Siemensadvanced from sixth to second place, after the Chinese company Huawei, whichwas ranked No. 1 for the first time. In 2017, Siemens filed patent applications inEurope for 2,220 inventions – about 19 percent more than in the previous year,representing a greater increase than was achieved by any other company amongthe top ten. The European Patent Office (EPO) published the latest statistics todayin Brussels.

“This ranking proves that we’ve further expanded our power of innovation,” saidBeat Weibel, head of the Intellectual Property department at Siemens.“Nevertheless, our focus is not just on the mere number of patents but also on thequality and the broad regional distribution of our protective rights. Above all,digitalization and the importance of the service business are making broadercoverage necessary.”