The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) recorded a growth in 2025, particularly in the fields of patents and utility models after a decline in the recent years. Patent filings increased to 62,050, representing a rise of 4.7% compared to 2024, while utility model applications saw a strong increase of 19.3% to 11,427 filings. The number of published patent grants also grew moderately, reaching 24,475 (+2.2%).
Looking at the geographical origin of applicants, Germany remains by far the largest contributor, with filings rising to 42,349 (2024: 40,099). Among the most relevant foreign applicants, developments were mixed. Filings from Japanese applicants showed a slight decrease to 6,493 applications (2024: 6,592), confirming Japan’s position as the leading foreign country of origin. In contrast, filings from the US applicants increased to 6,197 (2024: 5,886 – +5%), and filings from Chinese applicants also increased considerably by about 19,3% to 975 (2024: 817). Korean applicants remain almost steady, with 1,314 filings in 2025 (2024: 1,325). Overall, filings from abroad remained basically stable in total numbers, although shifts between the countries of the applicants are. In particular Chinese applicants represent about 18,9 % of the utility model applications.
From a technological perspective, the distribution of patent applications continues to be dominated by engineering-related fields. Mechanical engineering remains the largest sector, accounting for 39.2% of all filings (24,338 applications), followed by electrical engineering with 31.3% (19,436 applications). The field of instruments and medical devices represents 15.1%, while chemistry accounts for 7.4% of filings. Particularly dynamic growth can be observed in areas such as telecommunication and computer technology.
Post-grant activity remains relatively limited. The number of oppositions filed in 2025 decreased slightly to 226, compared to 237 in the previous year, continuing the overall decrease in oppositions at the DPMA.
At the level of the Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht), 188 nullity actions were filed in 2025, which remained almost stable compared to 2024 (191 filings). Notably, the average duration of nullity proceedings has decreased significantly: from approximately 2.5 years in 2020 to about 1.5 years in 2024, so that the lag between first instance infringement litigation and first instance nullity decisions (“injunction gap”) is substantially shortened.