Analysis of patent statistics in the field of remote sensing and geographical information systems: European Patent System example

Analysis of patent data is one of the frequently used methods to determine the direction of advancement of technology and the potential of the commerce. In the literature, studies have generally been carried out to analyse in which regions a certain technology is mostly used or on which technologies countries focus. No study that analyses patent data by focusing on a department has been found. Accordingly, first, the CPC (common patent classification) patent classes of technologies in the field of remote sensing and geographic information systems are determined, and then the number of applications and registrations made with the European patent system between 2000 and 2023 were obtained from Derwent Innovation and Patbase database. These data were examined to analyse the number of applications and registrations for European patents by year, the countries with the most applications, and the companies with the most applications in these classes. The study showed that patent applications in the field of RS and GIS accelerated in 2009, peaked in 2019 and then decreased, the number of registrations was at a very low level in the early 2000s, increased rapidly after 2015, experienced a significant decrease in 2022 and started to increase again. Furthermore, when the classes of patent applications made in the fields of RS and GIS are examined, it is seen that European patent applications, German applications and Japan applications take the lead, respectively, and the companies that apply are generally companies operating in the automotive and IT sectors.