Patent applicants and applications; technology field (IPC)

View full table Show description
Technology area 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)
All technology areas 2017 905 4,260 50 365 1,100 1,665 10 10
2018 900 4,195 80 365 1,075 1,635 15 15
2019 935 4,270 75 380 1,065 1,720 15 15
2020 980 4,255 85 485 1,105 1,645 20 20
2021 975 4,310 70 515 1,100 1,635 20 15
2022** 915 4,565 75 525 900 1,450 10 15
2023* . . . . 950 1,470 20 20
A Human necessities 2017 359 1,363 27 153 373 477 6 6
2018 368 1,409 32 148 381 493 4 5
2019 360 1,311 29 115 403 519 6 6
2020 363 1,312 32 160 435 552 6 7
2021 378 1,341 26 157 399 517 5 5
2022** 308 1,295 29 131 272 368 5 7
2023* . . . . 293 392 8 9
A1 Agriculture 2017 86 149 5 9 103 133 3 2
2018 87 149 7 10 124 160 0 0
2019 91 165 3 4 129 182 4 4
2020 89 177 6 16 127 168 3 4
2021 116 194 4 15 133 179 2 2
2022** 92 156 6 9 112 144 2 2
2023* . . . . 90 123 0 0
A2 Foodstuffs and tobacco 2017 58 179 3 20 48 68 0 0
2018 52 216 5 28 38 53 0 0
2019 55 188 6 10 51 71 1 1
2020 54 169 6 14 53 73 1 1
2021 75 197 8 14 57 71 0 0
2022** 56 185 5 11 41 70 0 0
2023* . . . . 33 52 1 1
A3 Personal or domestic articles 2017 59 145 5 9 94 100 3 4
2018 62 166 3 6 97 106 0 0
2019 54 155 2 8 103 105 0 0
2020 64 173 2 7 118 127 0 0
2021 57 140 4 8 88 96 0 0
2022** 42 126 2 3 51 50 0 0
2023* . . . . 75 85 1 1
A4 Health and amusement 2017 206 971 23 123 153 198 1 1
2018 216 969 25 116 154 196 4 5
2019 207 877 24 98 164 195 3 3
2020 204 870 22 129 185 229 3 3
2021 183 902 16 127 152 196 4 4
2022** 161 904 21 115 84 115 3 5
2023* . . . . 117 149 6 7
B Performing operations; transporting 2017 308 737 16 33 392 514 3 3
2018 312 710 20 25 377 497 1 1
2019 351 809 24 42 343 504 3 3
2020 357 791 27 56 374 524 2 2
2021 341 729 26 61 370 535 6 6
2022** 336 740 22 40 314 473 4 4
2023* . . . . 345 517 5 5
B1 Separating and mixing 2017 85 173 5 6 59 62 0 0
2018 87 169 5 5 78 87 0 0
2019 102 215 7 19 76 84 0 0
2020 106 213 11 18 84 95 0 0
2021 96 173 14 22 77 95 2 2
2022** 90 192 12 26 57 75 1 1
2023* . . . . 90 121 1 1
B2 Shaping 2017 80 221 5 6 79 105 1 1
2018 89 220 6 6 80 104 0 0
2019 103 258 7 7 86 122 1 1
2020 117 203 12 16 92 112 1 1
2021 112 222 5 9 106 140 1 1
2022** 114 228 7 8 82 124 0 0
2023* . . . . 91 132 1 1
B3 Printing 2017 12 60 0 0 16 18 0 0
2018 20 58 1 2 22 24 0 0
2019 15 39 0 0 15 24 0 0
2020 8 22 1 1 11 17 0 0
2021 9 18 0 0 11 16 0 0
2022** 10 32 0 0 8 9 0 0
2023* . . . . 11 12 0 0
B4 Transporting 2017 191 333 8 21 267 347 2 2
2018 180 298 9 12 240 307 1 1
2019 203 353 15 23 211 309 3 3
2020 209 405 15 26 235 333 2 2
2021 181 359 12 32 221 321 2 2
2022** 190 329 11 9 202 296 4 3
2023* . . . . 202 294 3 3
B5 Micro-structural and nanotechnology 2017 9 7 2 1 6 7 0 0
2018 7 10 0 0 2 2 0 0
2019 9 11 1 1 6 4 0 0
2020 8 9 1 1 1 1 0 0
2021 8 16 1 1 2 3 1 1
2022** 9 13 0 0 4 5 0 0
2023* . . . . 3 7 0 0
C Chemistry; metallurgy 2017 166 673 17 81 89 102 0 0
2018 181 773 32 124 87 119 1 1
2019 215 785 33 84 100 150 5 3
2020 215 832 33 135 89 115 5 5
2021 209 808 28 166 111 144 1 1
2022** 223 869 40 155 93 150 2 3
2023* . . . . 105 154 4 4
C1 Chemistry 2017 160 648 17 81 84 96 0 0
2018 172 730 31 123 81 107 1 1
2019 204 740 31 82 89 131 5 3
2020 200 785 31 131 79 102 5 5
2021 198 773 26 164 105 138 1 1
2022** 208 819 40 154 82 132 2 3
2023* . . . . 91 133 4 4
C2 Metallurgy 2017 18 35 0 0 7 7 0 0
2018 24 50 2 2 12 16 0 0
2019 24 61 2 2 16 22 0 0
2020 31 55 3 4 13 15 0 0
2021 24 45 3 4 14 15 0 0
2022** 28 68 1 5 18 25 0 0
2023* . . . . 24 27 1 1
C3 Combinatorial technology 2017 . . . . . . . .
2018 . . . . . . . .
2019 1 1 0 0 . . . .
2020 1 1 1 1 . . . .
2021 . . . . . . . .
2022** 3 2 0 0 . . . .
2023* . . . . . . . .
D Textiles; paper 2017 31 68 3 12 19 24 0 0
2018 23 34 5 7 14 15 0 0
2019 27 50 4 7 18 24 0 0
2020 21 35 1 2 11 11 0 0
2021 28 41 1 8 18 20 1 1
2022** 29 50 2 6 11 11 0 0
2023* . . . . 15 17 0 0
D1 Textiles or flexible materials n.e.c. 2017 21 58 3 12 15 19 0 0
2018 20 31 4 6 12 12 0 0
2019 18 38 3 6 14 16 0 0
2020 18 29 1 2 10 9 0 0
2021 25 37 1 8 14 15 0 0
2022** 21 37 2 5 8 9 0 0
2023* . . . . 14 16 0 0
D2 Paper 2017 12 12 0 0 5 6 0 0
2018 5 5 1 1 2 3 0 0
2019 10 12 1 1 6 9 0 0
2020 5 6 0 0 1 2 0 0
2021 4 4 0 0 4 5 1 1
2022** 11 13 1 1 3 2 0 0
2023* . . . . 2 2 0 0
E Fixed constructions 2017 120 204 3 44 178 226 3 2
2018 107 170 4 28 176 209 1 1
2019 103 210 3 69 191 245 1 2
2020 116 244 2 89 168 198 2 2
2021 127 273 5 98 181 217 4 2
2022** 109 273 3 115 156 187 0 0
2023* . . . . 163 197 0 0
E1 Building 2017 113 143 2 3 172 210 3 2
2018 104 127 4 4 170 197 1 1
2019 93 116 2 4 181 218 1 2
2020 106 137 1 1 161 185 2 2
2021 117 155 4 3 173 207 4 2
2022** 98 137 2 2 148 173 0 0
2023* . . . . 157 185 0 0
E2 Earth or rock drilling and mining 2017 13 66 1 41 13 19 0 0
2018 10 49 1 25 14 17 0 0
2019 16 97 1 65 16 31 0 0
2020 14 110 1 88 11 15 0 0
2021 14 120 1 95 13 13 0 0
2022** 16 141 1 113 15 21 0 0
2023* . . . . 9 16 0 0
F Mechanical engineering; lighting. 2017 137 326 2 6 164 216 0 0
2018 134 281 12 12 182 212 5 3
2019 144 350 9 13 180 218 3 4
2020 150 333 12 21 166 191 2 2
2021 154 377 10 17 162 218 0 0
2022** 144 401 9 15 160 200 3 3
2023* . . . . 152 186 3 3
F1 Engines or pumps 2017 47 58 1 2 46 62 0 0
2018 24 37 1 2 35 52 0 0
2019 31 46 1 1 38 41 0 0
2020 31 44 2 7 40 53 0 0
2021 40 70 3 7 38 63 0 0
2022** 39 68 4 9 42 57 2 2
2023* . . . . 38 52 0 0
F2 Engineering in general 2017 52 88 2 4 58 82 0 0
2018 61 84 5 6 73 80 2 2
2019 61 99 5 7 70 77 3 4
2020 73 97 9 12 56 61 1 1
2021 70 94 3 4 64 80 0 0
2022** 64 97 5 5 52 61 1 1
2023* . . . . 43 48 0 0
F3 Lighting and heating 2017 55 184 0 0 73 78 0 0
2018 69 170 7 4 87 89 4 2
2019 73 213 4 5 85 103 0 0
2020 65 201 3 3 77 81 1 1
2021 68 226 7 7 73 83 0 0
2022** 64 246 1 1 70 83 0 0
2023* . . . . 87 94 3 3
F4 Weapons and blasting 2017 6 8 0 0 6 5 0 0
2018 5 5 1 1 4 4 0 0
2019 5 6 2 2 2 2 0 0
2020 5 5 1 1 5 5 0 0
2021 2 3 0 0 2 3 0 0
2022** 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0
2023* . . . . 3 3 0 0
G Physics 2017 201 1,268 17 84 181 307 1 1
2018 204 1,233 23 86 170 338 4 3
2019 219 1,248 24 106 159 333 3 4
2020 229 1,174 31 128 180 307 3 4
2021 221 1,196 21 129 169 227 3 2
2022** 202 1,315 23 159 153 253 1 1
2023* . . . . 172 253 3 3
G1 Physics: instruments 2017 201 1,266 17 84 178 304 1 1
2018 203 1,223 22 84 170 337 4 3
2019 215 1,236 24 105 158 331 3 4
2020 227 1,168 31 128 179 306 3 4
2021 218 1,189 21 129 168 226 3 2
2022** 200 1,307 23 159 153 253 1 1
2023* . . . . 171 251 3 3
G2 Nucleonics 2017 3 10 0 0 4 4 0 0
2018 5 17 1 2 2 2 0 0
2019 6 14 1 1 3 2 0 0
2020 6 9 1 1 2 2 0 0
2021 7 11 1 1 3 3 0 0
2022** 5 10 0 0 . . . .
2023* . . . . 2 2 0 0
H Electricity 2017 133 846 11 52 125 175 0 0
2018 131 813 16 50 106 166 3 3
2019 144 823 14 62 115 174 3 3
2020 137 831 16 55 121 182 5 4
2021 137 807 14 53 121 177 2 2
2022** 130 878 22 73 101 178 5 5
2023* . . . . 129 187 3 3
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 the technology field the invention relates to, according to the International Patent Classification (IPC). This does not necessarily have to be the same area in which the applicant is economically active (SIC).

If a patent application relates to multiple technology fields, it is counted in full for each separate technology field. Due to this method the total number of patents for the subcategories are usually higher than the overarching category to which they belong. For example, a patent application relating to subcategories A1 and A2 counts separately for both, but is only counted once under the overarching category ‘A Human necessities’. This method of counting provides insight into how many patent applications can actually be attributed to the individual technology fields and which technology fields occur more frequently within the overarching categories.

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.