03 Feb 2025
New ERC report illustrates how ERC grantees commercialise their patented inventions

On 3 February 2025, the European Research Council (ERC) published a report 'Use of patents: Empirical evidence from a survey of grantees of the European Research Council (ERC)'. This new analysis finds that ERC grantees have commercially utilised their patented inventions in some 44% of surveyed cases.
The analysis based on the survey on the use of patents by ERC grantees, launched in November 2023, examined the technology transfer activities of ERC-funded researchers, including the licensing and other uses of patents resulting from their projects. Of the more than 12,000 researchers holding ERC grants at the time, the analysis focused on those who had declared patent applications stemming from their ERC-funded research. The survey was sent to 655 Principal Investigators (PIs), who collectively reported around 1,500 patent applications in their projects.
The key findings of the survey are as follows:
- 44% of surveyed ERC grantees have commercially utilised their patent applications, either through direct use, licensing, selling, or start-up creation. This rate aligns with similar findings for patent applicants from public research institutions (PRI).
- Licensing is the most common form of patent use, followed by the establishment of start-ups. Notably, ERC grantees engage in these activities at higher rates than other researchers in PRIs in comparable studies.
In most cases, licensee companies are based in the same country as the ERC grantee’s Host Institution or in a neighbouring countryplacing them predominantly within Europe or Associated Countries.
The main obstacle to licensing is a lack of interested buyers, often due to the need for extensive proof of technology viability. In 68% of cases where a patent was licensed, the acquiring company was founded or co-founded by the ERC grantee. - Patent sales by ERC grantees are relatively rare, partly due to limited market demand and partly because many Host Institutions have policies against patent sales, preferring licensing arrangements.
- ERC grantees hold a higher proportion of “sleeping patents” (unused patents) compared to researchers without ERC grants surveyed in other studies. This may reflect the early-stage nature of frontier research inventions, which often require further development before becoming commercially viable. The findings raise concerns about whether universities place excessive emphasis on patents as monetisable assets, potentially prioritising revenue generation over the broader societal benefits of open innovation.
- ERC grantees with a Proof of Concept (PoC) grant have a significantly higher rate of patent utilisation, as well as a lower share of unused patents, highlighting the role of PoC grants in supporting academic entrepreneurship.
According to the ERC, the survey results confirm that ERC grantees play a critical role in translating frontier research into economic opportunities. However, they also underscore the challenges researchers face in commercialising their discoveries. The ERC therefore calls for strengthening the ecosystem for research-driven innovation—including better funding mechanisms, improved collaboration between academia and industry, and tailored support for technology transfer, which are regarded as crucial for Europe’s long-term competitiveness.
For more information: