5 May 2022
The European Patent Office (EPO) and the
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) have signed a Memorandum
of Understanding to provide a general framework that will guide co-operation
activities between the two organisations. Signed by EPO President António
Campinos and EIT Director Martin Kern, the agreement draws upon the
complementary roles of each organisation in fostering innovation that tackles
societal challenges and promoting a modern intellectual property (IP) culture
in Europe.
The signatories emphasised the need to
support Europe’s innovation ecosystems with a view to creating sustainable
growth, including by fostering synergies between the EPO’s Europe-wide PATLIB
network of patent information centres and the EIT Knowledge and Innovation
Communities (KICs). These KICs work with local
organisations across Europe as innovation hubs, forming the larger EIT
Community. The scheme is a central pillar of the work of the EIT, which the
European Union set up in 2008 to strengthen Europe’s ability to innovate.
„Our partnership with the EIT will help us share
knowledge even more effectively and support innovators, start-ups, SMEs and
businesses across Europe with best-in-class expertise. This will enhance the
impact of the European patent system at the same time as improving access to
patent information and raising awareness of the power of patent knowledge,“ said EPO President António Campinos.
„At the EIT, we support innovation in
order to address today’s major global challenges ranging from health to climate
change. We are delighted to work together with the European Patent Office, in
order to offer its expertise to our innovators, helping them to protect and
utilise the Intellectual Property generated when they turn their ideas into
products and services for European citizens. Particularly SMEs and start-ups
often lack capacity and knowledge to do so themselves. With this cooperation
between EIT and EPO, we expect to see more of our innovations being grounded on
business models that can sustain themselves and create a bigger impact„, said
EIT Director Martin Kern.
The agreement defines the kind of
co-operation activities to be developed further in subsequent annual work
plans. Four main areas of co-operation have been identified: „Business support
activities“, „Technology trends and economic studies“, „Education and training“
and „Awareness raising and promotion“.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two
organisations will also share knowledge and expertise relevant to the
continuous development of their staff. Further joint efforts will be made in
disseminating and promoting the latest economic studies.
EPO PATLIB
network
European
and international co-operation at the EPO
European Institute of Innovation and Technology
EIT Regional Innovation Scheme