Portugal registers record number of patents at European Patent Organisation

Portuguese companies and inventors registered the highest number of patent applications ever with the European Patent Organization (EPO), in 2025, with 368 applications, an increase of 6.1%, compared to the same period last year, according to the EPO Technology Dashboard 2025 published on Tuesday.

Since 2016, there has been a doubling in European patent applications from Portugal.

In total, EPO received a record number of 201,974 patent applications in 2025, an increase of 1.4% compared to the previous year, being the first time that the 200,000 applications mark was exceeded.

“Applications from Europe, including from the 39 EPO Member States, increased by 0.4% (European Union 27: +0.7%), while applications from outside Europe grew by 2.1%.

Patent applications are an early indicator of companies’ investment in research and development (R&D)”, highlights the report.

“The record number of patent applications highlights Europe’s capacity for innovation and its attractiveness as a global technology market. The Technology Dashboard 2025 tracks progress and gaps in different industrial sectors, helping policymakers identify priority areas and guide actions and investments to strengthen technological sovereignty and competitiveness in Europe.

Although the Unitary Patent is already removing barriers and accelerating the transition to a more integrated European innovation market, it is necessary to maintain focus, especially in strategic sectors such as intelligence artificial, semiconductors, health and quantum technologies”, said the president of EPO, António Campinos.

As of late 2022, the European Patent Organisation (EPO) had 39 member states, including all 27 European Union member states plus 12 others (Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom). These states adhere to the European Patent Convention (EPC), enabling a single patent application to cover these countries.

Source: Jornal Ecónomico; Credits: EPO/Wikipedia