Intellectual property: letter of intent between the EPO and DG RTD to strengthen their collaboration

The EPO (European Patent Office) and the European Commission's DG RTD have signed a letter of intent to "strengthen their cooperation on knowledge exploitation and promote efficient management of intellectual assets", they announce on 20/09/2024.

This partnership "will help the ERA (European Research Area) to translate research into economic and social benefits, in line with the Draghi report". Published on 09/09/2024, the report calls on the EU to accelerate innovation and find new drivers of growth.

"Over the past three years, the EPO, the EIC and EISMEA (the executive agency for the EIC and SMEs) have worked closely together under the Transition and Pathfinder programmes to help SMEs maximise their innovation potential."

"This cooperation agreement lays the foundations for joint awareness-raising campaigns, training and events to highlight the importance of intellectual asset management, as well as initiatives to strengthen the potential of SMEs and start-ups."

The signing of the letter of intent between the EPO and DG RTD comes not least after the launch in 2023 of the unitary…