More patent applications were filed in Europe for medical technology products (12.2% of the total) over 2009 than for any other product category, according to Eucomed.

The European medtech industry association also noted that the number of European patent applications filed last year dropped for the first time in 20 years, from 146,600 in 2008 to 135,000 applications in 2009.

The most active EU member countries in terms of patent applications were Germany (18.7%) and France (6.6%). All of the major European countries saw a drop in patent filing activity in 2009 except for Sweden and Austria, which remained stable.

Outside the EU, the US and Japan were by far the largest countries of origin of European patent applications, with the US accounting for 24.5% of the total and Japan for 14.8%.

There was growth in the filing of patent applications for renewable energy, underlining the importance of environmental priorities for medtech innovation.