CodeFest 2026 on patent and IP portfolio (e)valuation
For the fourth edition of EPO CodeFest, we are excited to explore how code-based solutions can be used to assess the value of patents and intellectual property (IP) portfolios.
Making IP evaluation easier and more scalable can help startups and innovators access funding, bring new ideas to market and make smarter business decisions. By leveraging patent data, the economic value of IP can be unlocked, supporting growth, competitiveness and investment. These objectives are high on the agenda for European policymakers, as reflected in the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy published on 28 May 2025. Join us as we push the boundaries of what's possible with patent data!
- The coding challenge
Create an automated system that uses data analytics to assess patent value.
Potential approaches to evaluating IP value could look like but are not limited to:
- Technological importance: determine how unique, disruptive or broadly applicable a technology is
- Market-specific valuation: assess the technology’s market readiness, the importance of its potential market and existing competition from alternative technologies
- Legal strength: estimate the likelihood a patent will be granted, stand up to legal challenges or be successfully enforced
Participants can focus on a single topic (e.g. NLP-based technology breadth, monetary valuation or predictive legal models) or combinations thereof. Mixed teams comprising AI specialists, economists and legal and IP experts are encouraged, as multidisciplinary collaboration can help ensure impact.
This challenge offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the EPO’s efforts to maximise the power of patent data and enhance the evaluation of IP.
Want to participate?
This challenge is of particular interest to patent professionals, IT and AI specialists, economists, legal and IP experts, data enthusiasts, developers, coders, data scientists and professionals from international organisations, academia and research institutions. Only residents of EPO member states aged 18 and above can participate aged 18 and above can participate. Submit your proposals for solutions by 27 November 2025, 23.59 CET. Submissions can come from an individual person or a team of up to five people. Teams made up of EPO staff members, external entrants or a mixture of both are all welcome! Submit your proposals for solutions by 27 November 2025, 23.59 CET. Submissions can come from an individual person or a team of up to five people. Teams made up of EPO staff members, external entrants or a mixture of both are all welcome!
In line with the EPO's efforts to promote diversity and inclusion across the innovation landscape, women with an enthusiasm for technology and innovation are highly encouraged to take part, showcase their skills and help inspire the next generation.
In order to participate you must meet all eligibility criteria included in the rules of competition at the time of submitting your application.
Steps
- Submit your proposal by 27 November 2025, 23.59 CET. It should include:
- The completed form with your personal information. Please note that all team members must register individually and indicate if they are part of a team.
- An outline of your proposal for solving the coding challenge. Proposals must include an explanation of your suggested approach and indicate the data selection you intend to use, possible model implementation and model evaluation.
- During the first selection process, the submitted solutions are evaluated based on the rules of competition to decide which will move on to the next round.
- At the beginning of December 2025, participants will be informed if their proposal has made it to the next round.
- For the second round, selected participants will work on executing their proposed solution and submit their code by 22 February 2026 at 23.59 hrs CET.
- The jury will evaluate the final solutions based on criteria such as creativity, functionality and technical implementation.
- Finalists will be announced in March/April 2026 and the winners will be revealed at the prize ceremony in May 2026.
Prizes
The winners of Code Fest 2026 will be eligible to win one of the following prizes:
- Grand prize winner: EUR 20 000
- First runner-up: EUR 10 000
- Second runner-up: EUR 5 000
Each prize will be accompanied by a trophy.
- Jury
Submissions will be evaluated by senior specialists from across the EPO working in IT, data science, artificial intelligence, sustainability and patent information and analysis.
Yann Ménière, EPO Chief Economist, Patent Research and Policies
Yann Ménière joined the EPO as Chief Economist in 2016. He leads a team responsible for the preparation of economic studies, patent analytics and digital tools within the EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology. Yann was previously a professor of economics at Université Paris Sciences et Lettres where he led the chair on IP and Markets for Technology. He has many years of academic and field experience in issues relating to the economics of patents, innovation, technological change and economic growth.
David Horat, Director of Certifications and Educational Technologies, Directorate-General 5 Legal and International Affairs
David Horat oversees the European Qualifying Examination (EQE), the European Patent Administration Certification (EPAC) and the infrastructure of the European Patent Academy. Previously he was Director of Patent Knowledge where he led the development and delivery of data, information and knowledge products and services. He began at the EPO as a patent examiner and was key in the development of the first AI pre-search algorithm. He later headed the Prior-art Data Management department, leading a team of over 150 people across 10+ locations, delivering 1 000+ data pipelines, 2+ petabytes of data and introducing new innovative tools. Before joining the EPO, David worked as a software engineer at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and Ericsson. David holds an MSc in computer science, an LLM in intellectual property law and business management, and he has completed an executive programme in leadership.
Nathalie Sechi, Team manager of Business Analysis, Business Information and Technology, EPO
Nathalie Sechi joined the EPO in 2015 and has 25 years of experience in business architecture and business and strategy analysis. She has contributed extensively to business and digital transformation initiatives, with a clear focus on delivering tangible business value in everything from strategy to change implementation. Her strength lies in identifying business challenges that can be overcome using IT. Nathalie holds a master's in industrial economics and a PhD in industrial automation, with a focus on decision-making in the innovation process.
Volker Hähnke, Data Scientist, Business Information and Technology, EPO
Volker Hähnke is a data scientist with a background in bioinformatics and cheminformatics who studied at Goethe University Frankfurt and ETH Zürich. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information, where he contributed to PubChem’s chemical structure standardisation, he joined the EPO in 2015. In his role, he applies machine learning and natural language processing to improve patent search and prior art retrieval, with a focus on learning-to-rank models, user behaviour analysis and search evaluation. He brings deep technical expertise and a passion for applied AI to everything he does.
Hélène Dernis, Statistician and Analyst, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), OECD
Hélène Dernis is responsible for the STI Micro-data Lab, a data infrastructure that collects and links large-scale administrative data, including IP filings and commercial micro-level datasets, and aims to provide measures related to innovation and entrepreneurship. Since joining the OECD, she has contributed to the development of IP-related indicators, notably on patents, to support evidence-based policy.
Julie Callaert, Research Expert, Research and Development Monitoring Research Centre ECOOM, KU Leuven, Belgium
Julie Callaert manages the centre's technometrics study group, which provides patent indicators to the Flemish government to support their technology policy-making. Her research is primarily oriented towards the development of novel and enhanced patent indicators, with a particular interest in the dynamics of science and technology interplay, including academic entrepreneurship. She has published on these topics in journals like Research Policy; Scientometrics; Journal of Technology Transfer; Economics of Innovation and New Technology; and Industry and Innovation. With her background, and as a member of the INCENTIM research division from the KU Leuven’s Faculty of Business and Economics, she has also been involved in several European Framework projects.
- Timeline
The competition has five key stages:
16 September 2025 to 27 November 2025
Entrants must register and submit their proposals by 27 November 2025, 23.59 hrs CET. Proposals must include an outline and explanation of the suggested approach as well as indicate the intended data selection, the possible model implementation and model evaluation.
28 November to 5 December 2025
The proposals will be evaluated based on the rules of competition to decide which will move on to the next round.
5 December 2025 to 22 February 2026
The coding challenge is on!
All successful candidates will be given access to the EPO's data resources, including datasets and services. For the competition, the EPO will provide participants with a special CodeFest profile that includes enhanced computational resources in the Technology Intelligence Platform.
Access will be given to:
- The Technology Intelligence Platform, the EPO’s next-generation tool for processing, analysing and visualising patent data. Offering a JupyterLab based environment, it features a powerful computing infrastructure and provides easy access to the patent data contained in PATSTAT Global, PATSTAT EP Register and EP full-text through EPO-developed libraries.
- EPO worldwide bibliographic data (DOCDB)
- EPO worldwide legal event data (INPADOC)
- EP full-text data
- Open Patent Services
Consider that not all data resources will be needed to implement your solution. To submit a strong proposal based on the available data sources, look at which bulk data sets best suit your needs.
The coding challenge will run for over twelve weeks and code must be submitted by 22 February 2026 at 23.59 hrs CET.
March/April 2026
Announcement of the finalists!
Finalists are invited to the EPO CodeFest 2026 prize ceremony.
May 2026
EPO CodeFest 2026 prize ceremony!
During the ceremony, the winners will be announced. Details of the full programme to follow.
- Registration
Registration closed.
Registration deadline
27 November 2025, 23.59 hrs CET.Data Protection Statement (DPS)
DPS for CodeFest 2026Rules of Competition (RoC)
CodeFest 2026– Rules of competitionBackground
Patent valuation is playing an increasingly critical role in driving business success across all technology fields. Under its Strategic Plan 2028, the EPO is advancing methods for IP valuation to help startups and inventors secure funding and scale sustainably within Europe’s innovation ecosystem. By leveraging patent data to streamline IP evaluation, innovators can bring new ideas to market more effectively and make better-informed, strategic business decisions. These goals align closely with current policy priorities, as highlighted in the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy published on 28 May 2025. This CodeFest challenge contributes to the EPO’s efforts to develop advanced tools to help innovators assess the value of their patent portfolios to make smarter IP and investment decisions.
Further information
CodeFest 2023 on green plastics
CodeFest 2024 on generative AI
CodeFest Spring 2025 on classifying patent data for sustainable development
