EPO released a statistics and trend analysis of global patent applications in the field of aerospace (cosmonautics) technology on July 21, 2021. The aerospace technology domain defined by this study is divided into 8 main domains and 41 sub-domains according to the ESA Technology Tree, which corresponds to the CPC patent classification number B64G. The statistical objects are patent families whose priority date is after 1990 (inclusive), totaling 11,649 worldwide (including 4,249 in Europe)
Overall, the study yields the following key findings:
- There has been a steep worldwide increase in patenting filing in the past decade,
- A distinct growth in Chinese patent filings, for now are still filed mostly domestically,
- The patents related to aerospace technology are led by the United States, and European inventors are concentrated in Germany and France,
- The global top three major technical fields with the most vigorous growth are propulsion, space system control, and spacecraft electrical power,
- Cosmonautics patents in Europe are mostly company-owned (84%), and
- The top 10 patent applicants in the world and Europe are all aerospace technology inventions.
Released by TIPO
