PATLIB Conference 2026 highlights value of patents and looks to network’s future

This year’s event brought together Europe’s network of patent information centres to explore how stronger connections between IP, technology transfer and business expertise can help bring more research outcomes to market. EPO President António Campinos also outlined the EPO’s new lab-to-market alliance.

On 16 and 17 September, the European Patent Office (EPO) brought together the PATLIB network in Warsaw for the PATLIB Conference 2026, organised in co-operation with the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland. The conference welcomed 133 participants from 43 countries on site, while live streaming extended the event’s reach even further. The event generated more than 5 000 views from audiences in 85 countries, setting a new record for international online reach - 27% higher than in 2025.

In his welcome address, EPO President António Campinos highlighted PATLIB’s growing role in turning patented technologies into real-world innovation and outlined a broader ambition to create a lab-to-market alliance: 

“When I look at the whole PATLIB network, there’s a clear journey: it began with access. It’s grown into collaboration. And collaboration has built capability. Now, our task is to turn capability into greater impact. That is certainly a bigger ambition. But a necessary one. Europe has a lot of what the future demands. Talent. Research. Startups. The problem is not generating the science or technology; it is making the journey from lab to market.”

President of the Polish Patent Office Ewa Skrzydło-Tefelska underlined the role of PATLIB centres in supporting this journey, saying in her welcome address: “In Poland, we want to reinforce the evolving role of PATLIB centres by integrating them more closely into the broader innovation ecosystem. Their expertise can contribute not only to access to patent information, but also to technology transfer and the practical use of intellectual property.”

From invention to commercialisation: achieving business success

The conference programme highlighted the challenges and opportunities involved in unlocking the value of patented technologies through innovation. In his keynote, Marcin Koziorowski, co-founder and CEO of EcoBean, shared the company’s experience of using patented technology to turn spent coffee grounds into high-value, sustainable products. Subsequent sessions provided further unique insights into the experience of startups, the role of IP in attracting investment, EPO tools for patent valuation and technology assessment, as well as the skills needed to support effective technology transfer.

Unlocking the value of patents through CodeFest 

Now in its fourth year, this year’s CodeFest challenged developers, data scientists and innovators from across EPO member states to create tools that help businesses better understand the value of their patents. The goal: to make it easier for startups, investors and R&D managers to identify promising inventions, attract funding and make smarter business decisions. Details of the 2026 winners were announced at the conference and are available in the linked news article.

International reach: twinning Africa’s leading universities with European PATLIB centres

The network’s international reach was highlighted during a session on the Knowledge Transfer to Africa initiative (KT2A), which now involves more than 86 universities in 31 countries, including 21 African universities twinned with European PATLIB centres.

Shaping the future: PATLIB Next Level

The second day brought PATLIB centres and national offices together to focus on shaping the network’s next phase, with a focus on the PATLIB Next Level initiative, which was first presented to EPO member states at their 20th annual co-operation meeting in Split, Croatia, in May. The initiative is designed to expand the network’s technology transfer services and build the expertise needed to support innovators from the first technology search through to commercialisation and investment. Meanwhile, the EPO’s Scenarios of the Future exercise will help identify further needs throughout Europe to support innovation in the years ahead.

With more than 330 patent information centres across 39 countries, PATLIB has the reach and expertise to take this work forward and help promising ideas make it from lab to market.