The benefits associated with the strong technical progress being made in the MultiCycle project are not restricted to new process equipment and materials arising; the project has generated commercially sensitive, commercially strategic and commercially valuable new intellectual property (IP). In line with the European Commission’s impetus to see patent protection incentivizing competitive advantages within Europe, the project and its partners have prioritised patent protection in key areas of the project.

Two patents apply to IRIS’s work in an advanced monitoring systems optimized for the recognition of multiple polymers presents in a diversity of flexible multilayer packaging films, and cost-benefit determination for recycling multi-layer plastic waste.  A further patent relates to prospective fault adaption for project management. 

The activity to secure these new, exploitable IP assets has been undertaken through a transparent, cross-consortium prioritization process, and applying a filing strategy geared towards maximizing value for money from the investment in IP. The patents are currently making progress with the support of project partner and innovation management specialist Inlecom and outside council expertise, and will be formally filed at the respective patent offices in the coming months.