(Reuters) - The European Patent Office (EPA) received a record number of patent applications last year, with the biggest share of fillings coming from the United States, Germany, Japan and China, the office's register showed on Tuesday.

The office said it received 199,275 applications in 2023, 2.9% more than a year ago.

China's Huawei filled the largest number of applications for the third year in a row, followed by Samsung, LG, Qualcomm, Ericsson, and Siemens.

Patent applications are seen as an early indication of how much firms have been spending on research and development.

"This underlines both the attractiveness of the European technology market and the high quality of our products and services," EPA President Antonio Campinos said in a statement.

Applications from small and medium-sized enterprises have reached the highest level to date, he added.