According to a report published by the European Patent Office, the use of 3D printing with the healthcare sector has generated the highest demand for patents compared to other sectors, with a total of 4,018 applications from 2010 to 2018.
Europe is also displayed as being at the forefront of 3D printing inventions, with 47% of all 3D printing patents that were filed from 2010 to 2018 being within Europe. Germany accounts for the highest percentage of the European patents with 19.1%, followed by the UK, France, Netherlands, Switzerland and rest of EPC states (5%, 4.8%, 4%, 3.6% and 11% respectively).
The report also reveals that only two out of three patent applications were filed by large companies. Organisations with 15 to 1,000 employees accounted for 10% (2,148) of applications across this time period, and individual inventors and small businesses with less than 15 employees generated 12% (2,584) patents.
The report published by the European Patent Office is titled, ‘Patents and additive manufacturing – Trends in 3D printing technologies’.