European universities and research institutions were the target of the study

The European Patent Office (EPO) has launched a study on the use of patents in Europe. The “Valorisation of scientific results - Patent commercialisation scoreboard: European universities and public research organisations” is the second study on the subject and shows that European patents are the main tool used by European universities and public research centres to commercially exploit research and innovation results.

This study assessed the commercialization of patents at European level and concluded that the European institutions have already introduced more than one third of the innovations developed on the market.

868 interviews conducted in 241 European universities and research centres provided detailed information on patented innovation, commercialisation patterns and the challenges faced in bringing innovation to market. The role of Technology Transfer and Licensing Offices in patent exploitation was also studied.

The data collected by the EPO make it possible to observe that the main entities with which universities and public research institutions establish commercialisation partnerships are SMEs and large companies (about 40% each), and that the majority of successful collaborations (74%) are with partners in the same country. It is also revealed that patent licensing is the primary commercialisation channel, representing 70% of innovation commercialisation, followed by R&D cooperation (14%) and patent sales (9%).

Finally, the study identifies the challenges faced by universities and public research centres in successfully commercialising innovation. The main reason why two thirds of innovation is not commercialised is that it has not reached the proof of concept, or because it is still under development or because no commercial opportunities could be identified. Failure to find interested partners and lack of resources are reported as the third and fourth most important challenges. These factors are particularly critical for southern and eastern European countries.

The paper thus highlights the need to support Europe's universities and research institutes in overcoming barriers to commercialisation and optimising their innovative potential, reiterating that the European economy must harness the full potential of its innovative research in order to keep pace with the pace of innovation in countries such as China and the USA.

Consult the full report here