Patents from public research: France leads Europe

French National Research Organisations (NROs) generated 25,352 European patent applications between 2001 and 2020, i.e. 13.9% of applications generated by French applicants and 40% of all patents involving public research organisations (nearly 63,000), according to a study by the EPO (European Patent Observatory), published on 22/10/2025. This puts France in 1^st place in terms of absolute number of patents.

This study, devoted to "the role of European public research in patent protection and innovation", focuses on patents linked to public research bodies, whether as applicants or via their researchers as inventors.

It shows that a small number of players are behind the majority of applications linked to public research bodies. France's CNRS and CEA come out on top, with a total of 10,271 and 8,960 applications, respectively, between 2001 and 2020.

The study also looks at patent applications linked to university hospitals and start-ups. Here too, France stands out as the European leader with, between 2001 and 2020:
• 4,575 European patent applications linked to its university hospitals…