On 9 August 2022 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Recommendation on the guiding principles for knowledge valorisation with the aim to increase social and economic value from knowledge and transforming data and research results into sustainable products and solutions. It will align policy principles and measures for national, regional and local policy makers to maximize the transformation of research and innovation (R&I) results into solutions that benefit society. This will replace the 2008 Commission Recommendation on the management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities and a Code of Practice for universities and other public research organisations.
Boosting knowledge valorisation is essential to deliver rapidly new solutions to global challenges and opportunities created under the green and digital transformation. For example, it is estimated that half of the global reductions in CO2 emissions by 2050 will have to come from technologies that are currently at the demonstration or prototype phases.
Leveraging the full value of intellectual assets generated by R&I activities require organisations performing such activities to manage intellectual assets in a broad sense, both those that can be legally protected (patents, copyrights, trademarks etc.) and other intellectual assets that could be used in valorisation activities (e.g., data, know-how, prototypes, processes, practices, technologies, inventions, software etc.). The guiding principles also recommend the development of management strategies and promotion of skills to fully leverage intellectual assets.
The guiding principles will continue to engage all relevant actors in the research and innovation ecosystem and cover the entire scope of intellectual assets generated by research and innovation.
The expected Council Recommendation foreseen for later this year, is a milestone of the new European Research Area. Developing guiding principles for knowledge valorisation was proposed in the Commission Communication on “A new ERA for Research and Innovation” of September 2020 and included in the ERA Policy Agenda for 2022-2024 endorsed by Council Conclusions on the Future governance of the ERA in November 2021. The guiding principles build on the co-creation by the ERA Forum subgroup on knowledge valorisation established by the informal Commission expert group on the ERA Forum for Transition.
The guiding principles for knowledge valorisation will be further supported by two codes of practice on the smart use of intellectual property and for researchers on standardisation.
More Information
Proposal for a Council Recommendation on the guiding principles for knowledge valorisation
See more highlights relating to the EU Knowledge Valorisation policy