The European Innovation Act
An independent resource tracking, explaining and commenting on the European Union’s new framework to strengthen its innovation ecosystem — and helping the organisations it will affect prepare.
What it is
A strategic regulation for Europe’s innovation future
On 9 September 2026 the European Commission published its proposal for a Regulation establishing a framework of measures for strengthening the Union innovation ecosystem — the European Innovation Act. Its aim is to close two long-standing gaps: the difficulty of turning research into market-ready products, and the difficulty innovative firms face in scaling across the Single Market.
The proposal introduces common EU rules for the public procurement of research and development, creates a Union Competence Centre for intellectual-property-backed finance at the EU Intellectual Property Office, and amends the EU trade mark Regulation. It is now at the start of the ordinary legislative procedure, where it may still change.
Key facts
| Instrument | Proposal for a Regulation |
|---|---|
| Reference | COM(2026) 567 final |
| Procedure | 2026/0264 (COD) |
| Published | 9 September 2026 |
| Also amends | Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 (EU trade mark) |
| Status | Proposed — before Parliament & Council |
What it changes
The measures at the heart of the Act
An R&D procurement framework
Common EU rules for procuring research and development — including pre-commercial procurement — that today fall largely outside the procurement directives.
Competitive development in phases
Multiple sourcing, phased contracts, value engineering and risk-and-benefit sharing designed to de-risk innovation and keep several suppliers in play.
Intellectual property stays with innovators
As a rule, contractors keep ownership of the IP they generate — a decisive point for start-ups, investors and the value of a company.
IP-backed finance
A Union Competence Centre at the EU Intellectual Property Office, with IP valuation and a certification scheme for valuers, to help turn intangible assets into finance.
Security & cybersecurity
Dedicated rules for security considerations, security measures during contract implementation, and cybersecurity of products with digital elements.
Joint cross-border procurement
Common rules so several public buyers can pool demand across borders and reach the critical mass that strategic technologies require.
Who is concerned
If the Act touches your organisation, it is worth understanding now
Public buyers
Contracting authorities that commission research and development and run innovation procurement.
Innovative firms & SMEs
Start-ups and scale-ups bidding for, or affected by, R&D procurement across the Single Market.
IP holders & investors
Businesses and financiers for whom intellectual property is a core asset and a source of finance.
IP valuers
Professionals concerned by the new Union certification scheme for intellectual-property valuation.
The text, explained
Read the European Innovation Act, article by article
Every one of the proposal’s 41 articles — with a plain-English summary, the key points, what it means in practice, and analysis by Anthony Bochon. The official text is included for each provision.
Expertise
From the text to your strategy
Understanding the European Innovation Act is one thing; acting on it is another. This site is edited by Anthony Bochon, a lawyer at the Brussels Bar since 2011 (LL.M., University of Cambridge) and a doctoral researcher at the Université libre de Bruxelles, whose practice focuses on economic law, the regulation of new technologies, intellectual property and insolvency.
- Impact assessment for your organisation
- Intellectual-property strategy and valuation
- Participating in R&D and pre-commercial procurement
- Access to EU innovation funding
Why this site
The full text of the proposal is public. What is scarce is a clear reading of what it means, kept up to date as the text moves through Parliament and Council — and the expertise to translate it into decisions.
That is what you will find here: an independent, plain-English resource on the European Innovation Act, written by a practitioner.
