Patent activity in Czechia and its development since 2000

European research organisations are not as effective as world leaders in transferring results of their often excellent research to commercial sector. International studies published recently show increased activity of European universities and public research organizations in the field of patents, but Czech institutions are lagging behind those of the old EU Member States. Czech public universities report a lower proportion of direct patent applications filed with international patent offices compared to Austrian universities, as well as a share of indirect patent applications, which indicates lower level of cooperation with industrial sector. The Czech business sector lags behind even more significantly than the Czech higher education and government sector in patent activity, both in terms of the share of domestic and international patents. In order for the Czech Republic to come closer to the goal of becoming one of the most innovative countries by 2040, it is necessary to accelerate reforms in the research and development management system. This includes, in particular, the implementation of the European Commission's recommendations for knowledge transfer and validation and modification of the methodology for the evaluation of research organisations.