By Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
Protecting research results is crucial for innovation. Through its approach to the protection of intellectual property, the CNRS leverages discoveries, encourages economic development, plays a role in disseminating research results and fuels international research. Protecting the results produced by the researchers whose work is the source of innovations gives long-term life to the ambition for innovation. Intellectual Property (IP), the most common form being invention patents, promotes innovation by securing investments in R&D. The CNRS holds a confirmed position in the top 10 highest contributors of patents in France according to the French National Institute for Industrial Property (INPI) Ranking. Every year, new invention registrations originate from laboratories under CNRS supervisory authority and these are analysed by our patent engineers. They check whether the invention will be considered to be patentable by the patent office, on the basis of the technical knowledge that is publicly available (including disclosures from the researcher themselves) and whether a patent is the most suitable protection tool to promote this innovation. Once the minimum protective action has been taken, a deeper assessment of the potential of the technology begins, looking in particular at the legal potential of the patent (the chances that the patent office will issue it with a broad scope, the freedom to make use of it, and so on), maturation of the technology and its position against competitors.
