On Thursday 18 July, the European Patent Office (EPO) published a report on innovation in water-related technologies based on the international patent families (IPFs).
The report points out that Europe is a world leader in this area of innovation.
According to the EPO, Europe will account for 32% of the family of international patents for the 27 European Member States in the field of water-related technologies between 1992 and 2021. This share amounts to 40% for all 39 EPO member countries for this period.
Europe is followed in this area by the United States (23%) and Japan (12%).
It is the wastewater treatment sector that attracts the most interest from innovators, accounting for 60% of international patents.
In addition, the report indicates that large companies are the main drivers of innovation in water-related technologies in Europe, but that the contribution of universities and public research bodies to innovation in water technologies is tending to increase.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/d2r (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)