USPTO, EPO and JPO – Account for 88% of All Patent Families

The number of patent families filed at the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) — has more than doubled since the mid-1980s, to reach nearly 52,000 in 2005 according to OECD estimation.

The average rate of growth was 5.8% per year between 1995 – 2000, and slowing to 3% per year between 2000 – 2005.

The United States (31%), European Union (28%) and Japan (29%) are responsible for 88% of the patent families.

The exception to the rule of growth are Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, which have shown a decline since the early 2000s.