The number of patent applications had already declined in 2020. In the years 2017 to 2019, applications had been over 67,000 each year. DPMA-President Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer says:
"The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is still being felt on the balance sheet. Many companies are being more restrictive in the way they choose which developments they register. However, the fact that important inventions continue to seek protection in large numbers is a good sign for our innovation hub."
Patents: Decline in combustion engines, strong growth in e-mobility
Bavaria ranks among the states with the most Patent applications second place behind Baden-Württemberg. Bavaria registered 11,875 patents. That's 90 applications per 100,000 inhabitants. Baden-Württemberg registered 13,570 applications, or 122 patent applications per 100,000 inhabitants. North Rhine-Westphalia ranked third in absolute terms with 5,675 applications, and Lower Saxony ranked third in terms of applications per 100,000 inhabitants with 37.
Among the companies filing patent applications, Bosch takes the lead with 3,966 applications. BMW follows in second place with 1,860 applications, pushing Schaeffler from Herzogenaurach, which had been second for many years with 1,806 patent applications, into third place.
A particularly sharp decline in patent applications was recorded in the traditionally high-volume technology field of "engines, pumps, turbines": Here, the number of applications fell by 15.1 percent. Nevertheless, all of the top 10 applicants in 2021 were automotive manufacturers or suppliers. This may also be due to a strong increase of 20.2 percent in patent applications in the area of batteries and fuel cells.
