EXEL Industries retains its third place on the INPI's (French Patent and Trademark Office) list of ETI patent applicants for 2021. More significantly, the Group entered the ranking of the top 50 French patent applicants in the world . This is a significant recognition of the Group’s successful and sustained innovation policy.

The outcome of a strong innovation policy

Why file patent applications? To protect technical innovations, whether they are products or methods, within a given timeframe and territory. Patent Offices ensure a monopoly for a maximum of 20 years. To face infringement, the patent allows a company to protect itself and take legal action against infringers.

EXEL Industries has enhanced its Research & Development efforts. Within a year, the Group did file 23 first filing applications** at the French Patent and Trademark Office and 15 in other national offices (UKIPO, USPTO, Deutsches PMA, Netherlands PO, Danish PTO, or IP Australia). R&D activities are funded for up to 4% of its turnover. The Group is positioned in various markets and stands out for its product quality and its ability to compete with major global competitors. That is why the need to develop innovative solutions and to protect those innovations is crucial! To support these efforts, in addition to the R&D actions carried out in EXEL Industries companies, cross-functional skills centers have been set up to pool developments across the entire Group.

Providing global market protection

EXEL Industries is a very active player in the field of Intellectual Property and provides precise and strategic arbitration services. Several criteria are used to select countries where the Group protects its innovations: the potential of the local market, the possibility of asserting its Intellectual Property rights, and whether the invention fits into the Group's CSR policy.

While the Group has been expanding through external growth, particularly overseas since 2007, this very fine network of territories is highly decisive for its activities. EXEL Industries earns more than 80% of its turnover outside France. Innovation is the company's preferred method of securing strong positions internationally.

« EXEL Industries protects its innovations in territories of interest, where the Group intends to assert its rights over inventions developed by its French, European, American and Asian teams. »

Boris Welzer, Group Intellectual Property Manager

* Patent applications published in 2020 worldwide, including first filing applications.

** First filing applications are the first protection filed within a patent family (patent family means several members, one member for each country).