Fewer patents are registered in Germany.

The German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) counted 58,568 applications last year, as announced on Wednesday.

That is 5.7 percent less than in 2020. The office had already noticed a significant decline in the first Corona year.

In the years 2017 to 2019, the registrations were over 67,000.

"The balance sheet still reflects the economic effects of the corona pandemic," said DPMA President Cornelia Rudloff-Schäffer.

"Many companies choose more restrictively which developments they register."

Inventors in the Southwest

Among the German federal states, Baden-Württemberg is ahead by a nose - both with the total number of 13,570 applications and with 122 inventions per 100,000 inhabitants.

Bavaria, which came second in both categories, had 11,875 and 90 registrations, respectively.

The following federal states are far behind: North Rhine-Westphalia has 5,675 registrations, Lower Saxony has 2,982 and Hesse has 1,479.

The South-North divide is also reflected in the list of companies with the most patents.

Bosch from Baden-Württemberg is clearly in first place with 3966, followed by BMW and Schaeffler from Bavaria with 1860 and 1806. Daimler and ZF, who each have 1315 registrations, are followed by groups from Baden-Württemberg.

Volkswagen, a company from northern Germany, is only in 6th place.

The Wolfsburg come to 1243 registrations, in which, however, the registrations of the group's subsidiaries Audi (747, 8th place) and Porsche (651, 10th place) were not taken into account.

Change in automotive industry

Although the vehicle industry clearly dominates among the companies with the most patent applications, applications from the combustion engine sector are declining sharply, according to the DPMA.

"The main reason here is the technological change in the automotive industry from the combustion engine to electromobility." There was also a sharp decline in the medical technology sector at 17 percent.

However, there was a significant increase here in 2020.

While the number of patent applications fell, significantly more examination procedures were completed, at 48,489.

21,113 patents were granted - more than in more than 30 years.