Despite the pandemic, innovators’ interest in filing European patent applications is going strong – the European Patent Office (EPO) have reported that 2021 saw a record 188,600 applications filed (up 4.5% from 2020).
To understand how this growth is reflected in filings of AI and Quantum AI technologies, we analysed patent publication data up to and including 2019 for EPO filings. Our analysis has showed significant growth in both AI and quantum AI technologies that far outpaces the overall growth in EPO filings.
An exciting filing growth
As reported in our recently-updated AI report, we found an overall growth of 24% in filings in AI technologies between 2018 and 2019. However, patent applications in quantum AI technologies have surpassed even this impressive growth. The European Patent Office has seen a three-fold increase in patent applications between 2018 and 2019, building upon a five-fold increase between 2017 and 2018 – see Figure 1 below. Due to the 18-month delay between filing and publication, we are unable to review the 2020 and 2021 data, but we would expect the numbers to continue to grow to reflect the increasing interest in the field.
Figure 1 – Number of patent applications filed in Quantum AI technologies
What this data clearly shows is that there is a blooming interest in the application of quantum technologies in the field of AI, and one worth monitoring as the field continues to develop.
Keeping track of the data – the Dead Cat Live Cat patent publication map
Patent publication data provides a wealth of information on the trends in technologies, and the activities of actors in the field, both large and small. In addition to providing you with analysis of this patent data, Dead Cat Live Cat regularly monitors patent registers and databases to update you on published patent filings in the quantum field. On our website homepage you can access this information through our interactive map “Quantum Patents by Country”. An screenshot of the map in use is shown below:
This interactive map contains break-down, by country, of world-wide patent applications in Quantum technologies. The data includes cumulative data for applications published in 2020 and 2021. We monitor applicant information and inventor information, with a link to navigate to links to copies of the patent applications.
Quantifying innovation is always a difficult task, but patent applications serve as a useful proxy measure to understand the pace of innovation and technological development. The continued and increasing interest in quantum technologies patents across jurisdictions shows we are at an exciting time in the field.
