​Management of intellectual property is a key element of the CEA’s strategy, used for the benefit of innovation transfer to companies.

​A large amount of attention is given to the filing of patent applications, in terms of quality and number. In 2021, the CEA filed 710 priority patent applications. They reinforce a portfolio of 7,269 active patent families at the end of 2021.

The CEA’s active policy of protecting its inventions gives it an increasingly high profile in terms of filing patent applications:

• Ranked for the 10^th time in the world's top 100 innovation players^[1]
  
• 1^st applicant to the EPO^[2] among French research organizations and 2^nd French applicant after Safran
  

The applied technology fields in which the CEA files the majority of patents are microelectronics (semiconductors), new energy technologies (NET) and instrumentation. The CEA has for a long time cooperated with companies working in its specialist areas and puts its technologies at their disposal. To do so, it offers its partners collaboration contracts enabling them to use its intellectual property assets. Its patents can also be used under license in exchange for a fee. They can also play a vital role in the establishment of innovative companies.

[1] Ranking 2021 Clarivate

[2] EPO: European Patent Office. The EPO publishes an annual (unconsolidated) list based on patents filed that year. Its statistics cover both direct and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filings in Europe.