EPO Report Reveals Concentration of Patent Submissions in Select European Institutions

A recent report by the European Patent Observatory (EPO) reveals that patent applications across Europe are heavily concentrated in a small number of institutions. According to the data, half of all patent applications—both direct and indirect—submitted to the European Patent Office between 2000 and 2020 came from just 5% of European universities. In total, the report analyzed over 100,000 applications.

France’s University of Grenoble emerged as the most active institution, with 3,348 patent submissions, followed by Zurich’s ETH with 2,219 applications, and Munich’s Technical University with 2,183. The report also indicated that submissions were highest in Europe’s most industrialized regions, where collaboration opportunities with industry and technology transfer were more prevalent.

Among countries, Germany led the way, accounting for 24.09% of patent applications, with France following at 17.97%, the UK at 12.26%, and Italy at 6.61%. Smaller countries, such as Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, and the Netherlands, stood out for having the highest number of academic patents per university on average.

The most active sectors for patent filings were pharmaceuticals, with 24,944 applications, followed closely by biotechnology, with 22,870, and both measurement and analysis of biological materials, with 8,832 each. The report noted that the overall number of patent applications from European universities had steadily increased over the years, rising from 6.2% of all European patent applications in 2000 to 10.2% in 2019.

However, the report also highlighted a key issue facing Europe’s innovation landscape: over 20% of patents filed by universities are not being commercially exploited. Researchers described this as part of the “European paradox,” a phenomenon where Europe’s global leadership in academic research does not translate into applied technological and economic performance at the same rate as other advanced economies.

The report pointed out that although European universities make up nearly a third of the top 100 globally, according to the Shanghai Rankings, challenges remain in transforming scientific breakthroughs into commercial ventures. Researchers noted that 10% of startups based on European academic patents are headquartered in the U.S., underscoring the difficulties of commercializing new technologies within the EU’s single market.

Key barriers include market fragmentation, inconsistent policies across member states, underfunding of university research, and a broader aversion to risk. The diversity of national models for academic patenting also limits the transfer of knowledge, as much of it remains confined to local or regional ecosystems.

Recent reports by Mario Draghi on European competitiveness and Enrico Letta on the future of the Single Market have both argued that Europe’s fragmented innovation ecosystem is a major obstacle to commercializing its technological advances. They emphasized that while large companies may be able to navigate these complexities by sourcing technology across borders, there is still significant potential for further harmonization and integration within Europe’s markets for academic inventions.

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