Owning the Intelligence: Global AI Patents Landscape and Europe's Quest for Technological Sovereignty

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the global AI patent landscape from 2010 to 2023, highlighting China's dominance, the US's influence, Europe's limited share but high patent quality, and the factors driving international AI knowledge flows.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of global AI patenting, emphasizing Europe's position and the factors influencing international AI innovation diffusion.

Findings

China leads in patent volume

US dominates in citation impact

Europe has high patent quality but limited share

Abstract

Artificial intelligence has become a key arena of global technological competition and a central concern for Europe's quest for technological sovereignty. This paper analyzes global AI patenting from 2010 to 2023 to assess Europe's position in an increasingly bipolar innovation landscape dominated by the United States and China. Using linked patent, firm, ownership, and citation data, we examine the geography, specialization, and international diffusion of AI innovation. We find a highly concentrated patent landscape: China leads in patent volumes, while the United States dominates in citation impact and technological influence. Europe accounts for a limited share of AI patents but exhibits signals of relatively high patent quality. Technological proximity reveals global convergence toward U.S. innovation trajectories, with Europe remaining fragmented rather than forming an autonomous pole. Gravity-model estimates show that cross-border AI knowledge flows are driven primarily by technological capability and specialization, while geographic and institutional factors play a secondary role. EU membership does not significantly enhance intra-European knowledge diffusion, suggesting that technological capacity, rather than political integration, underpins participation in global AI innovation networks.