In recent years the worlds of public research and startups have become more linked than ever, attracting a high share of investment and playing a vital role in European competitiveness.

But this wasn't always the case. In this episode, cancer immunologist and entrepreneur Dr Jérôme Galon sheds light on how researchers have found increasing acceptance and support as they branch into business.

To illustrate this, the 2019 European Inventor Award winner shares his journey as an INSERM researcher and successful biotech founder, discussing the pivotal role of technology transfer offices, what it takes to turn groundbreaking discoveries into real-world impact and the evolving role of today's scientists. The conversation is accompanied by insights from the EPO Observatory's recent study on “The role of European public research in patenting and innovation.”

Host: Victor Arribas Martinez, Stream leader, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology 

Guests: Dr. Jérôme Galon, Cancer immunologist and research director, French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) 

More information:

• EPO study: “The role of European public research in patenting and innovation”

• Profile of Dr. Jérôme Galon on the EPO website

How is artificial intelligence changing the way patent professionals search, draft and work with patents? Our expert guests, including patent attorneys, patent searchers and the EPO's Chief Technology Officer, take you on a journey through real-world use cases, ethical consideration and personal experiences with AI in patent practice.

From the practical to the forward-looking, this episode explores how AI is already shaping the profession - and what might come next.

Narrated by Marguerite McCaughan, EPO

Guests:

• Sébastien Ragot, patent attorney, E. Blum & Co. Ltd.
• Vipul Mendiratta, project team lead, Caterpillar 
• Tim Powell, patent attorney, chair of the epi Working Group on the use of AI
• Angel Aledo Lopez, CTO at the EPO

Further information:

EPO’s AI Policy

epi Guidelines: Use of Generative AI in the Work of Patent Attorneys

EPO’s Legal Interactive Platform launched

Standards are the invisible protocols that ensure our devices and services work together seamlessly. But how do they relate to patents? And what does this mean for innovation and competition?

Uncover how the interplay between standards and patents shapes technological progress. This discussion dives into how the Unified Patent Court and the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre aim to streamline patent litigation and enhance legal coherence across Europe.

Finally, we introduce the European Patent Office's new dataset: the Patent Standards Explorer. By linking patent applications to standards documents, it offers a valuable resource for better understanding the innovation journey. 

More information: 

Standards and the European patent system, May 2025: full study

Patent Standards Explorer dataset

"Patents, standards and innovation: securing Europe’s competitive edge" event recording

Narrator: Victor Arribas Martinez, Stream Leader, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology

Guest: Pere Arque Castells, Stream Leader, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology

Featuring insights from speakers at the EPO Observatory’s "Patents, standards and innovation: securing Europe’s competitive edge" event:

• Gabriele Mohsler, Vice President Patent Creation Management, Ericsson

• Kirti Gupta, Vice President and Chief Economist of Global Technology, Cornerstone Research

• Bowman Heiden, Director of the Center for Intellectual Property (CIP), University of Gothenburg

• Justus Baron, Director of BRELA and Research Director, Northwestern University Center on Law, Business and Economics

• Aleš Zalar, Director, Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre, Unified Patent Court

• Rian Kalden, Presiding judge of the 2nd panel of the Court of Appeal, Unified Patent Court

• Alexander Haertel, Cluster Lead Patents, Deutsche Telekom

• Sophie Pasquier, Principal Licensing Counsel, Philips