Official public services that help researchers and companies protect and exploit research results, quantum research included: IP advice, patent information, results exploitation, business acceleration, technology transfer networks and investor links. Europe-wide services come first, then services of national IP offices and innovation agencies. Most serve every field of research. Each entry says what the service offers, who it is for and how to reach it, as its provider states it.
Not legal or IP advice; contact the service directly. A referral list of official public services that help researchers and companies protect and exploit research results, compiled from each provider's own pages on the date shown. Offers, eligibility and costs are given only as each provider states them and may change; the portal takes no requests, holds no personal or patent data and does not assess eligibility. Owner-reviewed for demonstration, 28 October 2026. Compiled 2026-10-21.
27 services
European IP Helpdesk
Provider
European Commission (IP Helpdesk website managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, EISMEA)
Country
Europe-wide
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
First-line intellectual property support that helps European SMEs and beneficiaries of EU-funded research projects manage, disseminate and valorise their IP. It offers a Helpline answered by legal specialists within no more than three working days, online and on-site training, and a library of guides, fact sheets and case studies.
For
Researchers; SMEs and start-ups; EU-funded projects
Eligibility
The Helpline is open to EU SMEs involved in transnational business within Europe or internationalising to Africa, China, India, Latin America or South-East Asia, and to researchers and SMEs participating in EU-funded research projects.
Free online access to information about inventions and technical developments from 1782 to today: more than 150 million patent documents from around the world, updated daily. Users can search patent publications, machine-translate them, follow emerging technologies and check whether a patent was granted and is still in force. It is not intended for bulk or automated retrieval.
Maps quantum-related patent applications in communication, computing and sensing into 18 search concepts, each with a ready-made Espacenet query. For each concept it gives descriptive statistics such as patents per year, applicant rankings and where patents were filed, and the query can be adapted, for example to follow specific companies or trends.
PATLIB network of regional patent information centres, presented by the European Patent Office (EPO)
Country
Europe-wide
Kind of service
Patent information and tools
What it offers
Over 300 regional patent information centres across the EPO's member states give local access to patent information for entrepreneurs, SMEs, private inventors and students. Many staff are experienced patent searchers, and centres may also offer technology and competitor watches, patent statistics, patent valuation or audits, advice on patent strategy and guidance on commercialisation or technology transfer.
Expert-led coaching that helps EU-funded projects disseminate and exploit their results: dissemination support, go-to-market support to mature key exploitable results and build a business plan, and add-on services such as portfolio analysis and intellectual assets management, arranged by a Booster mentor. The Commission states that the updated Booster runs until 2028.
For
EU-funded projects
Eligibility
Ongoing or closed projects, single or grouped, that received direct or indirect funding from Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, the Seventh Framework Programme or other sources such as Joint Undertakings, Partnerships and EIT KICs.
A Commission platform that gives beneficiaries of EU research and innovation funding a channel to valorise their results and connect with relevant stakeholders. The Commission now describes it as the repository for policy-relevant and knowledge-sharing results that are not meant for the market, and directs go-to-market results to the EU Innovation Platform.
For
EU-funded projects
Eligibility
Beneficiaries of EU research and innovation funding.
European Innovation Council (EIC), European Commission
Country
Europe-wide
Kind of service
Business acceleration
What it offers
Hands-on support for EIC-backed innovators: coaching, mentoring and training (including the EIC Tech to Market Programme), opportunities to meet corporates, investors and procurers, and help to enter global markets. Key Account Managers match applicants to the right service, and the services remain available after a project has ended.
For
EU-funded projects
Eligibility
EIC Pre-accelerator, Accelerator, Transition, Pathfinder and STEP Scale Up awardees, including the SME Instrument and FET schemes; EIC Scaling Club members; Horizon Europe Seal of Excellence and STEP Seal holders, Women TechEU awardees and beneficiaries of the call Support for Ukrainian tech SMEs and start-ups. EIC Accelerator applicants can receive three days of coaching from stage 2.
Enterprise Europe Network (launched by the European Commission, funded through the Single Market Programme and implemented by EISMEA)
Country
Europe-wide
Kind of service
Technology transfer and partnering network
What it offers
A network of business support organisations, among them chambers of commerce, innovation agencies, universities and research institutes, that helps businesses innovate and grow internationally. Its innovation services include advice on intellectual property rights, technology and innovation brokerage, technology marketing, and guidance for innovators and researchers on R&D partners and funding programmes. It also runs a free online database of business and technology offers and requests.
A free EPO tool for discovering patent-backed start-ups, university spin-outs, investors and research organisations across Europe, combining EPO patent data with start-up, investor, funding and research-institution information. Quantum technologies are among the fields it covers. An entity not yet listed can be added so that it becomes searchable in the tool.
For
SMEs and start-ups; Universities and research organisations; Investors
Austrian Patent Office (Österreichisches Patentamt) with Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws)
Country
Austria
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
A personal advisory session, usually a video call of two to three hours, in which experts from the Austrian Patent Office and aws work out with the company which of its know-how is worth protecting, from patents, trade marks and designs to alternatives such as copyright, secrecy or documentation, with hints on funding to finance protection. The company then receives a written summary with company-specific recommendations as a basis for its own IP strategy.
For
SMEs and start-ups
Eligibility
Small and medium-sized enterprises as defined by the European Union (fewer than 250 employees and within the EU turnover or balance sheet limits).
A first, confidential and non-binding assessment of whether seeking a patent makes sense: the inventor uploads a description and sketch of the invention, and Patent Office experts reply by e-mail or telephone on whether the main requirements for a patent could be met, which next steps are sensible and which other forms of protection might fit. The documents are deleted once the request has been handled.
Helps a public university or university of applied sciences decide whether to take up an invention made there: Patent Office experts analyse the invention, search the state of the art and assess the prospects of a patent application. The search report and assessment follow within two months, in German or English.
For
Universities and research organisations
Eligibility
Public universities and universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen).
Cost
Charged at a price stated by the Austrian Patent Office
Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO, Patent- og Varemærkestyrelsen) with the Danish Business Hubs (Erhvervshusene)
Country
Denmark
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
Matches a company with a mentor who has worked strategically and commercially with IP rights in a larger company for at least five years, to help it protect and exploit its product development, brands or designs and use its rights strategically. A mentoring course usually runs over several months, at most 12, with four to six meetings.
For
SMEs and start-ups
Eligibility
Companies with a Danish CVR number, fewer than 100 employees and at least one filed annual report that aim to work more strategically or systematically with IP rights; the participant must carry out or be responsible for IP work in the company.
Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO, Patent- og Varemærkestyrelsen)
Country
Denmark
Kind of service
Patent information and tools
What it offers
A meeting of up to two hours in which the inventor and a DKPTO patent expert in the field search national and international patent databases together, to find out whether solutions similar to the idea already exist. The meeting takes place at the office in Taastrup or Ikast, or online.
For
Inventors and entrepreneurs
Cost
Charged at a price stated by the DKPTO; extra time is charged by the hour
French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), through its regional delegations
Country
France
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
A first, confidential evaluation of a company’s intellectual property needs in two half-day meetings with an IP expert trained in the INPI interview method. The company receives a report setting out its objectives, IP needs and tailored recommendations, followed by an oral debrief on the priority actions and the resources to mobilise.
For
SMEs and start-ups
Eligibility
Project holders and managers of start-ups and SMEs who are new to intellectual property and use IP tools little or not at all.
French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), through its regional start-up contacts
Country
France
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
Tailored IP support from INPI experts, with regular contacts at each key step and an action plan with priority recommendations after each meeting. At the end the start-up receives IP performance indicators from the INPI Empreinte PI tool and may obtain an INPI letter of support for innovation for its fundraising; INPI financial aid through the Pass PI is possible, subject to eligibility.
For
SMEs and start-ups
Eligibility
All start-ups already created and incubated project holders.
DPMA free first advice for inventors (Erfindererstberatung)
Provider
German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) with the patent attorneys’ profession (Patentanwaltschaft)
Country
Germany
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
Free first advice by patent attorneys, offered by the DPMA for questions that go beyond its customer service, at its Munich and Berlin offices: up to 30 minutes per appointment in Munich and 20 minutes in Berlin, by appointment. The DPMA notes that inventor advice days are also held at many patent information centres and chambers of industry, commerce and crafts, and that evaluating and exploiting inventions is not its task.
Enterprise Ireland’s knowledge transfer agenda, Ireland’s national hub for industry-academia collaboration and research commercialisation, simplifies access to publicly funded research and expertise, supports IP commercialisation and promotes best practice in IP management, licensing and research contracting, including the National IP Protocol. It lists the technology transfer offices that connect businesses with research expertise, technologies, facilities and IP.
For
SMEs and start-ups; Researchers; Universities and research organisations; Investors
IPIL patent information and technology watch services
Provider
Luxembourg Institute of Intellectual Property (IPIL G.I.E.), created in 2014 with the approval of the Government in Council
Country
Luxembourg
Kind of service
Patent information and tools
What it offers
Patent search and technology and competitive watch services based on patent, trade mark and design registers, with personalised guidance to define needs and to understand and use the results: for example to establish prior art or patentability, monitor technologies and competitors, find technologies to license and avoid infringing patents in force. Support services for companies, research actors, public institutions and anyone interested are part of its mission.
Octrooicentrum Nederland: conversation with a patent adviser
Provider
Octrooicentrum Nederland (Netherlands Patent Office, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and organised under the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO)
Country
Netherlands
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
A confidential one-hour conversation, online or on site, with a patent adviser from the visitor’s region about intellectual property, IP strategy (for example financing, licences and freedom to operate), a pending patent application or a granted patent. The office gives no substantive advice, for example on whether an invention is new or inventive, and does not refer visitors to commercial advisers.
For
SMEs and start-ups; Inventors and entrepreneurs
Eligibility
Entrepreneurs and inventors with a question about intellectual property; the office’s information officers assess whether a request qualifies for a conversation.
Octrooicentrum Nederland: patent search advice and exploratory patent search
Provider
Octrooicentrum Nederland (Netherlands Patent Office, part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and organised under the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO)
Country
Netherlands
Kind of service
Patent information and tools
What it offers
Search advice gives relevant search terms, classification codes and example patents, with an explanation of how to search patent databases yourself, usually within ten working days. An exploratory patent search (orïnterend octrooionderzoek), requested through an Octrooicentrum patent adviser, selects relevant patent documents with a search strategy within about six weeks. Neither is a novelty or freedom-to-operate search.
For
SMEs and start-ups; Inventors and entrepreneurs
Eligibility
Entrepreneurs (up to 250 employees) and inventors with a business plan.
GAPI network (Gabinetes de Apoio à Promoção da Propriedade Industrial)
Provider
GAPI offices across Portugal, presented by the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)
Country
Portugal
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
A network of offices for the promotion of industrial property, started in 2001 and located across Portugal in universities, polytechnic institutes, technology centres, business associations and science and technology parks. The offices help citizens obtain information on protecting, maintaining and defending their rights in trade marks, patents and designs.
OEPM business support service (Servicio de Apoyo a la Empresa)
Provider
Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM)
Country
Spain
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
A personalised service dedicated to SMEs and entrepreneurs, reached by telephone, WhatsApp or e-mail. The OEPM also offers duty trade mark and patent examiners, technology information services and express trade mark and design services.
OEPM patent technology reports and technology watch bulletins
Provider
Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM)
Country
Spain
Kind of service
Patent information and tools
What it offers
A patent technology report (Informe Tecnológico de Patentes) is an in-depth analysis of patent documents, scientific literature and other documents published worldwide on the technology the applicant describes, to help decide whether to file a patent or utility model or how to orient an R&D project; it is requested through the OEPM electronic office and takes 21 working days on average. The OEPM also publishes free quarterly technology watch bulletins on relevant newly published patents in several sectors.
For
Anyone
Cost
Technology reports are charged at a public price published by the OEPM; the bulletins are free
Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV), PRV consulting services
Country
Sweden
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
A two-hour meeting with a patent engineer, at PRV in Stockholm or online, to go through the invention, the requirements for obtaining a patent, what a patent application must contain and how to find existing patents yourself. Afterwards the inventor receives the notes of the meeting and the links covered, to search public databases, find patent attorneys and move forward; confidentiality applies.
IP Advisory Network: free initial patent consultation
Provider
Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) with the patent attorney associations VESPA, ASPTA and LIPAV
Country
Switzerland
Kind of service
IP advice and helpdesk
What it offers
Patent attorneys in Switzerland and Liechtenstein who take part in the network advise small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals for up to 45 minutes on patent protection and software copyright protection, to clarify their most pressing questions and how to proceed. The consultation takes place at the attorney’s office; if further advice is useful, the attorney states its cost.
For
SMEs and start-ups; Inventors and entrepreneurs
Eligibility
Small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals; the free consultation can be used once.
An innovation mentor helps an SME or small organisation evaluate the potential of an innovative idea, structure it, find the right research partner and prepare an application for an Innosuisse innovation project. Access is through two vouchers, an initial assessment and a project initiation or revision, requested on the Innosuisse application platform.
For
SMEs and start-ups
Eligibility
Organisations based in Switzerland with fewer than 250 full-time equivalents, not part of a larger group, seeking an Innosuisse mentor for the first time for the project and not advised by another body for it at the same time.