TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — South Korea’s Samsung Electronics held the largest share of semiconductor patent applications in Europe for 2021, a new report by the European Patent Office (EPO) reveals.

The company made up 13% of all industry patent applications. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), with roughly a 3% share of the total, came in third place after Intel.

The South Korean conglomerate’s patent applications grew by 57% last year compared with 2020, according to a press release by the EPO. Samsung was part of a broader push by the country’s industry, with total semiconductor applications from South Korea rising by 36% overall.

Despite this, the U.S. held the highest share of semiconductor patents by a non-European country, with 19% of the total 3,748 patents filed. South Korea came in second with 18% of the total, followed by Japan at 16%.