Jülich research produces innovations that benefit the economy and society. The discoveries can be protected and licensed. Property rights include inventions for which patent applications have been filed and patents granted. An invention is patentable if it is novel, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable.

The patent portfolio is made up of the patent families and the total portfolio of property rights. A patent family consists of one or more patents in Germany or abroad that relate to a patentable technology.