An exclusive right to exploit generally for 20 years with legal coverage to prevent others from using it without your consent. Patents are an example of technology transfer to society, industrial and commercial applications… in which Spain must improve. Regardless of size, the average of 2,000 in our country contrasts with countries like China, which already exceeded 1 million patent applications in 2015.
This week, La Nave, in Madrid, hosted the first edition of P4I Patents for Innovation (P4i)More than 150 meetings were held, with speakers from 120 companies participating. In conclusion, the Minister of Science and Innovation said: Diana MoranteHe explained how, at least, “that something is changing in Spain, it is the first time that the country has held a patent fair, An essential tool for innovation and the future of all. We understand that from the government and with this new ministry we support the new model of the pioneering country to bet and innovate with companies. Morant also highlighted (in addition to announcing the creation of a specific web portal) how 2021 was a record year for patents in our country, above the EU average.
It is a great challenge for the present and the future, in a country characterized by its uniqueness A large proportion of public versus private patents. in this context, Patricia Ramosdeputy director and patent specialist at the consulting firm PONS IP, points out how “more than three million patents are filed in the world every year, for all kinds of technologies. Spain is far from emerging in the statistics as the main applicant for patents. No Need to go to the United States, China or South Korea: In Europe alone, Spain is not among the top 10 applicants, which is 30 times less active in this regard than Germany. If today Spain is the fourth largest economy in the European Union and 14th in the world, this situation is bound to change.” In addition, Spain is not part of the Single European Patent (One Proceeding), due in early 2023, as Spanish is not included in the language system (English, French and German).
The specialist also highlights how industrial property indicators are already measures of innovation in a country, “so we have to stop procrastinating and increase the capacity and competitiveness of our companies, and grow in investment in research and development and innovation generation.” It appeals to RTRF funds: “It must have an appropriate protection strategy so that rights remain in Spain, generate benefits and produce an increase in the transfer of knowledge between the public and the private. We must promote the generation of high-quality patents from companies and public research centers.”
Ramos adds how there is room for improvement: «There are great opportunities to continue to grow in technological sovereignty as a country When, according to data from the SPTO (Spanish Patent and Trademark Office), the public sector promotes about 30% of national patents, while it is responsible for half of the national R&D efforts ».
As an example of generic initiative in P4i, Fidel Rodriguez’s fightThe Vice-Minister for Universities, Science and Innovation of the Community of Madrid, expresses his opinion on the keys to this activity: «We are one of the sponsors of the event because of the importance we attach to financing (new) innovation activities. Research Plan The scientific and technological innovation of the Madrid Community 2022-25 represents an increase of 48% of the funds allocated to innovation and research).
The Deputy Minister also points out the importance of “understanding that the patent is the means between scientific knowledge in the laboratory and transferring it to the company and thus to the community. An effort in which we must help small and medium-sized companies, so that they can join these scientific and technological applications ».
In this environment, the Community of Madrid had a presence mother + d (Accreditation and Verification of University Degrees, Entrepreneurship, Scientific Publishing, and Talent Recruitment for Innovation) and Seven IMDEA InstitutesLarge centers for attracting talent, cutting-edge research and giving back to society (for every euro invested in them – notes Rodriguez Batala – there is a return of more than three)”.
in the private sphere, Michelangelo Parisof Acciona’s Civil Construction Research and Development Department, notes “how the 70 people in R&D work in our department, and 10 patents have been created in the past five years, as part of a process in which we engage international collaborators. Open innovation that contributes, To its limit, in the growth of the number of patents managed in Spain (the demand is not the same as the publication), about 2,000 on average per year … while IBM has, in the international context, with 20,000.
direct method
Paris, as a recent example, stands out for a design patent Floating foundations on offshore wind farms. Energy and Construction have united into an initiative that will have a pilot in about two years, based on criteria that take into account aspects of construction, logistics and implementation.
In the case of Cinfa, also present in the P4i, they presented Sinva, its new open innovation platform, which will identify “innovative projects through which to respond to the health needs of people in the future”, based on more than 50 years of experience in the sector. Its goals are continuity, permanence, customization, health self-management, natural solutions with scientific evidence and sustainability.
Felix Zamora, Vice-Rector for Transport, Innovation and Culture at the Autonomous University of Madrid, the entity behind the event (with the BeAble Capital Foundation and the Phantoms Foundation), for his part, points out the importance of recent events such as the pandemic caused by Covid-19 (the pharmaceutical sector has traditionally been at the fore). In the field of patents): “In this case, the fundamental link between science and business arose, to solve a well-located problem that greatly affected society.” He points to the need to promote more meetings like P4i: “We must bridge the gap between science and business with meeting points like these. A long-distance race in which you have to run. In this version, 360 patents have been filed, with a database of 1,000, in addition to facilitating communications with investors so that the process is more flexible and efficient.”
