Iceland lags behind other Nordic nations in European patent applications
The European Patent Office (EPO) received 42 European patent applications from Icelandic entities in 2023, marking a slight decrease from the 48 applications submitted in 2022 and a significant drop from the 63 applications in 2021. This information is detailed in the recently published EPO Patent Index 2023.
When adjusting for population size, Iceland saw 11.4 European patent applications per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023. This rate is considerably lower than those of other Nordic countries, with the exception of Norway, which had 12.9 applications per 100,000 people. Iceland's application rate was also marginally lower than the European Union's average of 15.3. Sweden (49.5), Denmark (44.5), and Finland (42.2) were number 2,3 and 4 on the list of countries with them most application submissions. Switzerland topped the list with 108.5 applications per 100,000 inhabitants.
In 2023, Icelandic applicants were granted a total of 36 European patents, a notable increase from the 15 patents granted in the previous year and slightly above the ten-year average of 28. The fields attracting the most patent applications from Icelandic entities included medical technology (11 applications), measuring devices (8), and pharmaceuticals (5).
The EPO received a record 199,275 patent applications in 2023, a 2.9% increase from the previous year. The majority of these applications came from the United States, Germany, Japan, China, and South Korea. Huawei was again the leading applicant at the EPO in 2023, like in 2022, followed by Samsung, LG, Qualcomm and Ericsson. Digital communication, medical technology, and computer technology were the most popular fields for patent applications. Notably, the number of applications grew significantly in electrical machinery (12.2%), particularly in batteries (28%), and in biotechnology (5.9%). Women were listed as inventors in 27% of the patent applications from Europe.
The EPO, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is one of the largest international organizations in Europe, employing approximately 6,300 people. Since Iceland joined the organization in 2004, the number of validated European patents in the country has seen considerable growth, with 993 European patents taking effect in Iceland in 2023.