German Intellectual Property Office releases 2023 IP Trends Report

The German Intellectual Property Office released the 2023 Intellectual Property Trends Report on June 5, 2024. The report shows that the number of invention patent applications accepted by the DPMA in 2023, including domestic applications and PCT applications entering the German national phase, reached 58,656, showing a significant increase. Among them, the number of applications from German residents increased significantly to 38,469, an increase of 3.4% over 2022. The top five application source countries are: Germany, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland.

The top five countries of origin of applications are: Germany, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland.

Main technological fields of invention patent activity in Germany in 2023

• The field of mechanical engineering accounted for 40% of all patent applications in Germany in 2023.
• The number of patent applications in the electrical field increased particularly significantly (+6.1%), with a total of 17,659 patent applications, accounting for 30.1% of all patent applications, ranking second. Obviously, the growth in patent applications in the field of electrical technology is mainly due to the rapid development of digitalization and related technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
• As an important foundation for digitalization, the number of applications in the field of semiconductor technology has increased particularly significantly, reaching 2,179 (+16.6%).
• The number of applications in the field of electrical machinery, instruments and energy technology increased by 9.9%:
  • In terms of battery technology applications classified as H01M in the international patent classification, the growth rate in 2023 will be as high as 20%.
  • The companies with the most battery technology applications are car manufacturers and suppliers, with research focusing on becoming more sustainable, i.e. reducing the use of scarce raw materials and lowering production costs, while achieving high energy density to ensure maximum range for electric vehicles. The number of inventions in the field of internal combustion engines has fallen sharply again: in 2023, the number of inventions in the technology field "engines, pumps, turbines" was 4.6% lower than in the previous year.
• In other technical areas of mechanical engineering, DPMA saw considerable declines:
  • The number of patent applications in the field of engineering components fell by 6.8%, including hydraulic or pneumatic actuators, shafts, joints and bearings, and pipes and containers for storing gases or liquids.
  • However, in the field of transportation technology, the number of patent applications increased again by 2.5%, with a total of 10,618 patent applications received.
  • The field of medical device and instrument technology is mainly concentrated in the fields of "biological material analysis" (+15.6%), "optics" (+8.3%) and "control or supervision" (+15.1%).
  • In contrast, the number of patent applications in the chemical field fell by 1.8%.
  • Application patent applications in the construction sector fell by 5.7%.

The number of utility model patent applications in Germany increased by 2.5% year-on-year in 2023 to 9,709

• The number of applications in the field of electrical machinery, equipment, energy (electrical engineering) technology reached 1,056 in 2023, a significant increase of 24.8%. The continued development of digitalization has undoubtedly driven the increase in the number of applications.
• In the field of transport technology, there were 906 applications.
• In the field of medical technology instruments, there was a considerable growth of 12.7%.
• A total of 8,325 utility model patents were authorized in 2023, accounting for 89.3% of the applications for the whole year.
  

The German Patent and Trademark Office received a total of 27,011 design patent applications in 2023

• The number of design applications filed with the DPMA in 2023 fell slightly (-1.5%) to 3,774 compared to 2022. Nevertheless, the DPMA remains the national office with the highest number of design applications received in the EU and ranks in the top ten worldwide.
• 94.1% of design patent applications registered by the DPMA come from Germany.
• A total of 1,230 design patent applications came from other European countries, 377 from non-European countries, with the majority of foreign countries coming from Switzerland with 513 designs.

In 2023, most designs were in the furniture category, accounting for 14.4%. Clothing and accessories ranked second with 12.4%, followed by Class 32 (graphic symbols and signs, surface patterns, decoration, interior decoration) with 12.1%.

In 2023, the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) received 78,695 trademark applications, an increase of 1.6% over the previous year.

• The number of applications submitted directly to the DPMA increased from 73,312 to 75,260 (+2.7%).
• In contrast, Madrid trademark registrations fell by 16.6%.
• 92.5% of trademark registration applications come from individuals or entities with residence or principal place of business in Germany.

• In 2023, the number of EU trademark applications filed by German applicants with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) fell by 5.7% to 22,234.