Samsung has regained its seat at the head of the European Patent Office’s (EPO) patent index rankings, unseating Huawei. In total, annual patent applications fell by 0.1% in 2024, compared to the 2.9% growth seen in 2023 – from 199,275 to 199,264. Our recent coverage of the behind-the-scenes European Standards Essential Patents (SEP) debacle is the lens through which the EPO index should be viewed. The top five had no European entrants. In 2023, Ericsson was fifth. In 2024, it had fallen to eighth – from 1,969 patents to 1,470. The top four are familiar names for our readers. RTX is the parent company that houses Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney, and Collins Aerospace – a major defense and aerospace conglomerate…