Germany's role in global value chains: Germany's technological strengths in global patent competition

The relevant question in terms of industrial policy is therefore who acts as the global ultimate owner of a patent and in which region of the world do the associated control rights lie. From a emergence perspective, Germany currently accounts for 16.5% of all transnational patent applications in the years 2017-2021, but only 14.7% from a control perspective. On balance, Germany is therefore losing a relevant amount of intellectual property rights generated in Germany to other countries. In this context, company takeovers represent a major challenge for the German business model. Currently, around 4,400 different companies are patent-active in Germany as a research location, which are controlled by a global ultimate owner from abroad, together with their patents. As a direct consequence, around 39,700 or 26 percent of all transnational patent applications generated in Germany are currently owned by foreign entities, while around 25,000 patent applications generated abroad are controlled from Germany. After the USA, the third most patents already flow to China. In view of current geopolitical developments, not only the latter but also the former must be critically scrutinized.

Despite these results and the pessimistic mood, Germany maintains a high share in numerous technology areas despite the high volumes of the corresponding global patent markets. With such a dominant position, the corresponding global market is heavily dependent on German technology. In mechanical engineering and vehicle construction in particular, Germany controls numerous important technologies, such as machines in the fields of printing, agriculture and the processing of materials, rail vehicles, but also in the field of electromobility, for example in the charging of electrified powertrains. Germany is also an international leader in some areas of renewable energy technology, controlling 36% of all transnational patent applications for wind turbines and 32% for heat pumps, for example. The global market is particularly dependent on German technology for liquid crystal materials, which are used in displays, optoelectronic components and polymer materials. With a share of 73 percent, Germany controls almost three quarters of all transnational patent applications worldwide in this area.