Center for Science and Education Management and Evaluation of Wuhan University, Chen Lixin, Zhang Lin, Huang Ying
The Data Processing (G06F) sub-category is a major part of computer technology, which includes computer interfaces, controllers and combinator CPUs, computer general components, computer applications and software engineering, computer security, and is also part of the computer model architecture. It does not include data recognition, image processing, e-commerce and management systems, and information storage. In 2022, the European Patent Office granted a total of 4,492 patents in the data processing (G06F) subclass, accounting for 6% of the total number of patents granted, making it the first largest subclass in terms of the number of patents.
TABLE 271-1 Number of European patented inventions and patents in category G06F for data processing by country in 2022
Note: This table is based on the statistics of the first inventor and the first right holder of the patent respectively (the data in China does not include patents in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).
Figure 271-1 Comparison of the number of European patented inventions and patents in category G06F for data processing by country in 2022
In 2022, the U.S. was granted 1,806 European patents in the data processing (G06F) subclass, accounting for 40% of the total number of patents in this subclass. China has made 513 patented inventions in this sub-category, obtained 463 patents, accounting for 10% of the patent share of this sub-category, and has a net loss of 50 patented inventions, with a loss rate of 10%.
In 2022, India conceded 69 patents in the data processing (G06F) subclass, accounting for 76% of its total inventions. As a global R&D hub, India has contributed a large number of patents to other countries. Similarly, the United Kingdom and Israel have contributed many patents to other countries. China's relevant companies and enterprises should also actively set up R&D centers in India and other countries to recruit the world's scientific and technological elites and obtain global high-quality intellectual resources.
In 2022, the company with the most European patent grants in the data processing (G06F) subclass was Samsung Electronics, followed by Microsoft and Huawei.
TABLE 271-2 Top 10 European Patent Grants in 2022 for Data Processing G06F
Note: The data in this table is counted according to the first right holder.
Figure 271-2 Top 10 European Patent Grants in 2022 for Data Processing G06F
We would like to thank Professor Liu Zeyuan of Dalian University of Technology, Professor Liang Liming of Henan Normal University, and researcher Wuyishan of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology Development Strategy of the Ministry of Science and Technology for their support and help in this report. At the same time, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the experts and scholars who have put forward their opinions and suggestions on this report in different forms.