Patent applications from Switzerland remain at a high level
Switzerland maintains its strong position in the European patent scene in 2025: The European Patent Office received 9,914 applications from Switzerland, only slightly fewer than in the previous year. At the same time, the country remains the world leader in patent applications per capita, sending a clear signal of its innovative strength.
The European Patent Office recorded a total of 201,974 patent applications in 2025, exceeding the 200,000 mark for the first time. This corresponds to an increase of 1.4 percent compared to the previous year, with applications from countries outside Europe increasing in particular.
EPO President António Campinos sees the development as proof of Europe's innovative strength and emphasizes the importance of strategic areas such as AI, semiconductors, health and quantum technologies.
Switzerland in seventh place worldwide
With 9,914 patent applications, Switzerland ranks seventh internationally and third in Europe behind Germany and France. Despite the slight decline of 0.5% compared to 2024, the number of applications remains at a very high level,
The per capita rate remains particularly remarkable: with around 1,096 European patent applications per million inhabitants, Switzerland continues to lead this ranking.
Medical technology ahead
In terms of technology fields, medical technology remains the most important sector in Switzerland with 965 applications, although it declined slightly. Other consumer goods, measurement technology and electrical machinery, equipment and energy follow in second place.
The strongest growth was recorded by other special machinery, up 32.1%, and transportation, up 14.2%. The Swiss patent portfolio thus continues to be broad-based and robust in several areas.
Zurich remains a center of innovation
At cantonal level, Zurich clearly leads the Swiss ranking with 1,362 patent applications and is also in 13th place among the European regions. Vaud and Zug are also among the most innovative locations and are among the regions with the highest number of applications in Europe.
Together with Basel-Stadt and Geneva, the five leading cantons account for more than half of all Swiss patent applications. This underlines the strong concentration of innovation activity in a few research-intensive clusters.
Swiss companies among the top applicants
Hoffmann-La Roche remains the number one Swiss applicant with 681 patent applications, followed by Philip Morris International with 680 and ABB with 463 applications. All three are among the 50 most active patent applicants at the EPO.
Universities also play an important role: EPFL, ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich will be among the leading European institutions for patent applications in 2025.
Source: European Patent Office
