The European Patent Office (EPO) recently released the Patent Index 2020, which provides an overview of Europe's filing activities.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic affecting all aspects of the economy, the number of patent applications filed in Europe declined by just 0.7% in 2020 compared with 2019. Healthcare innovation was the main driver of patent applications, with the medical technology, pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields registering the largest increases. The EPO attributes the increase in patent filings in these fields to innovation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The index shows that Italy is one of the fastest-growing European countries in the healthcare innovation sector, achieving an increase in pharmaceutical patent applications of more than 22% compared with 2019, which is significantly higher than average.

Further, the index reveals a 6% growth in Italy's medical technology sector. This increase is also above average for the top 10 countries in the sector and makes medical technology the fourth most important technical field in the country.

The recent positive trend of Italian innovation growth thus continued in 2020, particularly in the healthcare sector – one of the highlights of the country's industrial landscape.

For further information on this topic please contact Nicolò Mosiello at Trevisan & Cuonzo by telephone (+39 02 86 46 3313) or email ([email protected]). The Trevisan & Cuonzo website can be accessed at www.trevisancuonzo.com.