Reading the forest through patents: A Europe-wide sector analysis

Abstract

Innovation will shape how Europe's Forest sector responds to growing demand for low-carbon materials and bio-based products. However, the technological composition and geographical distribution of recent patenting activity in the sector remain insufficiently documented. This study examines 372 patent families associated with applicants from the defined European study area and with earliest publication years between 2019 and 2023. Descriptive indicators and a sector-specific topical taxonomy were used to characterize the thematic composition of the corpus. Patent families were assigned to all applicable International Patent Classification (IPC) sections using full counting, while Correspondence Analysis was used descriptively to examine differences in IPC profiles across applicant types, countries, and macro-regions. Patent-family counts increased descriptively across the observed earliest publication years. Companies accounted for most filings, while academic and research institutions contributed a smaller but technologically distinctive share. Forest Products represented the largest share of full-counted topical assignments, particularly in engineered wood, secondary processing, packaging, biorefineries, and new materials. IPC-section assignments were concentrated primarily in Performing Operations and Transporting (IPC B), Human Necessities (IPC A), Chemistry and Metallurgy (IPC C), and Fixed Constructions (IPC E). Correspondence Analysis showed differences in IPC-profile composition among applicant types: companies were comparatively oriented toward operations, paper-related and mechanical technologies; academia/research institutions toward chemistry, physics, and instrumentation; and CSO/Other applicants toward human-needs and construction-related technologies. National and macro-regional analyses further revealed heterogeneous technological profiles across the study area. The study provides a transparent framework for combining sector-specific topical coding with standardized IPC-based patent profiling. The results describe where patent-visible technological activity is concentrated and identify patterns that may warrant further investigation using complementary evidence on research capacity, collaboration, and commercialization.