Patent applicants and applications; SIC 2008 and company size

Changed on: 03/08/2026 02:00

Patent applicants and applications; SIC 2008 and company size
Country (UCI)	SIC 2008	Company size	Periods	EPO-Patent applicants (number)	EPO-Patent applications (number)	EPO-Patent Applicants with foreign cooperation (number)	EPO-Patent Applications with foreign cooperation (number)	OCNL-Patent Patent applicants (number)	OCNL-Patent Patent applications (number)	OCNL-Patent Applicants with foreign cooperation (number)	OCNL-Patent Applications with foreign cooperation (number)
Total domestic and foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	250	505	5	5
Total domestic and foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	95	145	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	90	145	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	65	215	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Total domestic and foreign	D Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	D Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	D Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	0	0	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	D Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Total domestic and foreign	D Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Total domestic and foreign	35 Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	35 Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	35 Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	0	0	0	0
Total domestic and foreign	35 Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Total domestic and foreign	35 Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Domestic	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	190	360	0	0
Domestic	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	95	135	0	0
Domestic	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	60	100	0	0
Domestic	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	35	125	0	0
Domestic	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Domestic	D Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Domestic	D Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Domestic	D Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	0	0	0	0
Domestic	D Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Domestic	D Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Domestic	35 Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Domestic	35 Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	5	0	0
Domestic	35 Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	0	0	0	0
Domestic	35 Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Domestic	35 Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	60	145	0	0
Foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	5	10	0	0
Foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	25	45	0	0
Foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	30	95	0	0
Foreign	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	D Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	D Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	D Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	D Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	D Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	35 Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	35 Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	35 Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	35 Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Foreign	35 Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	D Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	D Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	D Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	D Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	D Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	35 Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	35 Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	35 Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	35 Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Equally-shared control	35 Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	D Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	D Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	D Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	D Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	D Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	35 Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	35 Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	35 Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	35 Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Extra EU-27 not allocated	35 Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	D Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	D Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	D Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	D Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	D Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	35 Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	35 Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	35 Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	35 Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Offshore financial centres	35 Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	B-E Industry (no construction), energy	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	D Energy supply	Total employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	D Energy supply	0 to 49 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	D Energy supply	50 to 249 employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	D Energy supply	250 and more employed persons	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Unknown	D Energy supply	Employed persons unknown	2023*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.
Source: CBS.

Explanation of symbols

Table explanation

This table gives an overview of the number of patent applicants and patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Netherlands Patent Office (OCNL), a department of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Patents can be granted to enterprises, universities, institutions, private persons or other entities as long as the invention which they cover fulfils certain criteria. To obtain a patent the invention must be novel, contain an inventive step and be industrially applicable. This is assessed by a patent office like the EPO or OCNL. The patent office will grant or reject the application.

The data are broken down by economic activity of the enterprise applying for a patent. For the classification by economic activity the Dutch Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2008) is used. The data give an indication which branches are (most) innovative. Additionally, a breakdown by enterprise size class is available.

Data available from: 2011

Status of the figures:
The figures from 2011 to 2021 are final. The figures for 2022 are revised provisional. The figures for 2023 are provisional.

Changes as of August 3, 2026:
The figures for 2021 and 2022 have been adjusted and the provisional figures for 2023 have been added.

Changes as of February 27, 2026:
Provisional figures for 2021 and 2022 have been updated.

When will new figures be published?
Beginning of 2027 the figures for 2022 and 2023 will be updated. Mid 2027 the figures for 2022 and 2023 will be updated and new figures for 2024 will be added.

Description topics

EPO-Patent

A patent that is granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) is valid in all member countries of the EPO. However, the EPO patent must be validated at the national patent office in order to be effective in member countries.

applicants: Enterprises who applied for a patent at the European Patent Office (EPO)in the period observed.
A patent that is granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) is valid in all member countries of the EPO. However the EPO patent must be validated at the national patent office in order to be effective in member countries.

applications: Patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) in the period observed.
A patent that is granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) is valid in all member countries of the EPO. However the EPO patent must be validated at the national patent office in order to be effective in member countries.

Applicants with foreign cooperation: Enterprises who applied for a patent at the European Patent Office (EPO) in the period observed, where the Dutch applicant has cooperated with a foreign entity for any of its applications.

Applications with foreign cooperation: Patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) in the period observed, where the Dutch applicant has cooperated with a foreign entity for this specific application.

OCNL-Patent

A patent that is granted by NL Patent Office (OCNL), a division of Agency NL, is only valid in the Netherlands.

Patent applicants: Enterprises who applied for a patent at the Netherlands Patent Office (OCNL), a department of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), in the period observed.
A patent that is granted by NL Patent Office (OCNL), a division of Agency NL, is only valid in the Netherlands.

Patent applications: Patent applications at the Netherlands Patent Office (OCNL), a department of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), in the period observed.
A patent that is granted by NL Patent Office (OCNL), a division of Agency NL, is only valid in the Netherlands.

Applicants with foreign cooperation: Enterprises who applied for a patent at the Netherlands Patent Office (OCNL), a department of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), in the period observed, where the Dutch applicant has cooperated with a foreign entity for any of its applications.

Applications with foreign cooperation: Patent applications at the Netherlands Patent Office (OCNL), a department of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), in the period observed, where the Dutch applicant has cooperated with a foreign entity for this specific application.