The patent frenzy in the US has spilled over to affect the number of patents issued by the European Patent Office (EPO). Over a quarter of EPO patents from 1997 were granted to American licencees, while 18% went to Japanese inventors. It is unclear from these figures whether the European patents are multiple applications, mere reflections of the American and Japanese inventions, or brand new products. Only half of European patents were awarded to European sources. Germany was the largest European patentee, with 19%, and France and Britain had 7% and 5.5% respectively. The greatest rise was in the field of computing, where a 28% advance dwarfed all other areas. In telecommunications, demand for high-grade single crystals saw more filing for materials like silicon and gallium. Two thirds of these patents originated in the Japanese semiconductor and electronics industry. Mobile phones faced similar attention, particularly in the sphere of aerial design with issues such as size, visibility and the impact of radiation on the user. Aerials are likely to become smaller and increasingly integrated into other components of the telephone. Total figures are up on previous years, and Godehard Nowak, of the EPO office in Munich, Germany, anticipates further increases. There were 99,764 patents issued in 1997; Nowak says that the EPO expect applications around 110,000 to 113,000 for 1998. That would be a rise of 10%-13%, well behind the corresponding figure for the US of 33%.
