Spain leads the growth of patents from public research organizations in Europe, with a spectacular increase of 365% in two decades.

 

A recent report prepared by the Patent and Technology Observatory of the Oep, In collaboration with Fraunhofer ISI, he emphasizes crucial role of public research organizations in driving innovation on the continent. The analysis, which covers 39 Member States, highlights that Spanish public research entities generated nearly 3.000 European patent applications (2.994 specifically) between 2001 and 2020. This volume places Spain such as fifth most active country en Europe, only behind powers such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.

 

The most significant thing is the growth rate of public innovation in Spain, which has outpaced the rest of the major European countries. In the last two decades, European patent applications originating from Spanish IPOs have skyrocketed, rising from 57 in 2001 to 265 in 2020 setups, which is a impressive increase of 365%This figure is much higher than that recorded by the second fastest-growing country, Belgium (+ 172 %), and that of France (+ 137 %), Netherlands (+ 94 %) and Germany (+ 45 %).

 

El President of the EPO, Antonio Campinos, has emphasized the importance of these findings: "Public research is one of Europe's greatest strengths. This study highlights the vital role of our public research institutions and hospitals, whose inventions drive European competitiveness."However, Campinos pointed out the need to improve knowledge transfer: "To fully realize its potential, we must intensify collaboration and accelerate the transfer of research into technologies with practical applications.".

 

La collaborative culture of Spanish IPOs is another point to highlight. More than half (54,8 %) of the academic patents applied for directly by these institutions involved several applicants, highlighting the importance of international teams. Seventeen percent of these patents were the result of exclusively inter-European collaborations, and another 7,8% included partners from outside the continent.

 

Public research bodies have promoted 63,000 inventions across Europe in the last two decades.

 

The Spanish ecosystem is also shown especially dynamic at the research-based entrepreneurship, with 97 startups nationals linked to European research institutions through their patent applications. In addition, Spanish institutions are associated with 37 startups in other European countries, which underlines the international projection of the sector.

 

In terms of absolute volume of patents originating from European public centres, which total around 63.000 between 2001 and 2020, France (25.352) and Germany, (18.276) remain in the lead. However, the strategic importance of the IPOs is more marked in countries such as France (13,9 % of the national quota of European patents), Spain (11,9 %) and Belgium (9,5 %). The predominant technological fields at European level are biotechnology and pharmaceutical products.

 

El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) rises like the ninth most active public research organization from Europe, with 1.069 European patent applications registered between 2001 and 2020, joining a select group of ten European institutions that account for 63% of total IPO applications.

 

Regarding the research hospitals, Spain occupies the seventh place in Europe, with 726 European patent applications in the same period. Finally, the commitment of the Spanish research sector to the new frameworks for the protection of industrial property is notable: OPI y research hospitals Spaniards have adopted the Unitary Patent with a rate of 75 %, far exceeding the European average of 41 %, which positions them as leaders in adoption of this system.