The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) and the European Patent Office (EPO) have signed a letter of intent to provide informative reports on the proposals invited to panel interviews under the September 2022 EIC Transition Challenge Call.

The letter of intent signed by both parties covers a pilot activity which saw EPO experts provide a non-binding view on the technological novelty, the inventive merit and the proposed future intellectual property strategy of EIC Transition proposals shortlisted for jury interview following the call for proposals closing on 28 September 2022. The scope covered two of the three Challenge calls, namely "RNA-based therapies and diagnostics for complex and rare genetic diseases", and "Process and system integration for clean energy technologies". The patent examiners did not formally participate in the evaluation process but provided a view on the patent positioning to the Jury as material 'for information'.

The pilot initiative seeks to leverage the EPO's expertise and unique positioning in the European innovation ecosystem. It is foreseen as a first step that could lead to a longer-term collaboration that will allow both organisations to work together and stay on top of technology developments and understand Europe’s relative positioning to ensure the EIC supports key technologies for the EU's future competitiveness.