France does better than the world average

Patent filings decreased in 2023 worldwide for the first time in 14 years, except in certain countries such as France, which belie the general trend.

The figures come from the classification established by the International Intellectual Property Organization of the United Nations (UN). In 2023, in a context of general decline at the global level, patent filings decreased by 2%, but applications from France increased by 2%. In volume terms, countries like China, India and the United States remain at the top of the ranking, but with losing momentum for new projects, a bit as if these states had reached a ceiling and were not innovating. ultimately no more than before, unlike France.

The companies driving French innovation are above all those in luxury, with the L’Oréal group at the forefront. It’s no surprise that these French flagships are achieving good scores on the stock market, as we can see at the moment with the CAC 40 records. These innovative efforts are attracting investors and luxury is not the only growing sector. Among the French companies that file the most patents, we find Safran, Stellantis (formerly PSA Peugeot Citroën), the Atomic Energy Commission in the defense, automobile, security and digital technologies categories.

Why is France doing better than others?

France is succeeding in doing well in particular thanks to the Research Tax Credit. The Research Tax Credit is, in a way, an advance on costs from the State. To put it simply, an amount is subtracted from the tax amount if a company proves that it is investing to innovate. It is therefore public money made available to all companies, whether public or private. It has been proven that it works, because from luxury to defense, from large groups to SMEs, our industrial flagships are positioning themselves on the international scene and competing with countries like the United States and China, in smaller proportions, but indeed real. Enough to relaunch the debate on the use of public money in the industrial sector.

Should we help French companies to innovate to shine on the international scene and maintain the hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on them? The success of our patents provides part of the answer.