WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2026 clusters ranking, released on 8 September 2026, keeps Barcelona in 45th place among the world’s top 100 innovation clusters and puts Madrid 48th, one place down on 2025. According to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), 40% of Barcelona’s PCT patent applications and 51% of Madrid’s were filed together with actors outside the cluster. For universities, research centres, spin-offs and the companies that partner with them, that makes co-ownership and licensing terms a core part of Iberian IP strategy.
Key takeaways
- Barcelona (45th) and Madrid (48th) are Spain’s two clusters in the world’s top 50.
- Over the last five years Barcelona filed more than 2,000 PCT applications and Madrid more than 1,600.
- Four to five in ten of those applications are shared with outside partners, so ownership is often joint.
- Under Spanish law, a co-owner can exploit a joint patent alone but cannot license it to a third party without the others; only a contract changes that default.
What does the GII 2026 cluster ranking show?
The Global Innovation Index (GII) is WIPO’s annual innovation ranking. Its cluster chapter identifies the areas with the densest concentrations of inventors named in PCT applications, scientific authors and venture capital deals. In its press release of 8 September 2026, WIPO named Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou first again, followed by Tokyo–Yokohama, San Jose–San Francisco, Beijing and Seoul. China hosts 25 of the top 100 clusters and the United States 20; Europe has 30, with London (8th) and Paris (11th) the only European clusters in the top 15. São Paulo (49th) and Mexico City (82nd) are the two Latin American clusters and Cairo (86th) the only African one. The full GII 2026 is scheduled for presentation on 29 September.
Barcelona and Madrid in figures
The OEPM’s note of 8 September 2026 gives the data behind the two Spanish positions, covering the last five years:
| Indicator | Barcelona | Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Rank 2026 (2025) | 45 (45) | 48 (47) |
| PCT patent applications | More than 2,000 | More than 1,600 |
| Scientific articles | More than 40,000 | A very similar number |
| Venture capital deals | More than 1,300 | Around 1,000 |
| PCT applications filed with partners outside the cluster | 40% | 51% |
Collaboration on scientific publications exceeds 80% in both clusters. The OEPM lists San Jose–San Francisco, Paris, Shanghai–Suzhou and Stockholm among the regions Spanish centres work with most, and names the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the University of Barcelona and the Complutense University of Madrid among the main applicants.
Why collaboration rates matter for Iberian IP strategy
A PCT application filed with a partner usually means a jointly owned patent family, and joint ownership has default rules that few partners would choose deliberately. Under Article 80 of Spain’s Patents Act (Ley 24/2015), the co-owners’ agreement governs first. Without one, each co-owner may exploit the invention after notifying the others, keep the patent alive and sue infringers, and may sell its share subject to the others’ pre-emption rights (two months, or one month from recordal of the transfer). But a licence to a third party must be granted by all co-owners jointly, unless a court authorises one of them.
The identity of the partner matters too. Article 21 of the same Act gives public universities and public research bodies, such as the CSIC, ownership of their researchers’ inventions, so the counterpart is the institution, with its own procedures for patenting and licensing. And when the partner is abroad, each country where the patent is granted applies its own co-ownership rules, which is why the contract, not the default law, should decide.
What this means for your business
- Sign the collaboration agreement before the research produces results, not when the PCT deadline arrives.
- Define background and foreground IP, who owns what, and who files, in whose name and in which countries.
- Agree cost sharing country by country, and what happens if one party stops paying for a market.
- Override the joint-licensing default: decide who may license, exclusively or not, and how revenue is shared.
- Align publication with filing: researchers’ papers can destroy novelty if they appear before the application.
Our cross-border IP strategy team for Spain and Portugal structures these agreements and the filing plan, and our IP licensing and contracts team drafts the co-ownership and licence terms.
When to bring in an adviser
- Before signing with a university or public research body, whose ownership rules and transfer procedures shape what you can negotiate.
- When a co-owned family enters national phase and the partners disagree on countries or costs.
- When a spin-off needs an exclusive licence to raise funding; investors will check that every co-owner has signed.
- When the partner is foreign and the patent will be granted in several countries with different default rules.
Frequently asked questions
Where do Barcelona and Madrid rank in the GII 2026 clusters?
Barcelona is 45th and Madrid 48th among the world’s top 100 innovation clusters in WIPO’s 2026 ranking, published on 8 September 2026. Barcelona keeps its 2025 position and Madrid drops one place from 47th. They are Spain’s two clusters in the global top 50, according to the OEPM.
Can a co-owner license a jointly owned Spanish patent alone?
Not by default. Article 80 of the Spanish Patents Act lets each co-owner exploit the invention after notifying the others, but a licence to a third party must be granted by all co-owners jointly, unless a court authorises otherwise. A co-ownership agreement can set different rules, which is why it should be signed early.
Can IP Global Guard structure a research collaboration with a Spanish university?
Yes. We review the institution’s ownership rules, negotiate and draft the collaboration, co-ownership and licence terms, and coordinate PCT and national filings, acting before OEPM and WIPO directly where our professionals are entitled and otherwise through qualified representatives, with European patent attorneys for the EPO.
How IP Global Guard supports Iberian innovators
Ranking among the top clusters reflects collaboration; turning that collaboration into assets that can be licensed and financed depends on the contracts behind it. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, coordinates IP strategy, contracts and filings across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our coverage in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Send us the collaboration you are planning or the co-owned families you already hold. We will review ownership, map the filing plan and propose the contract terms. Contact our team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on the date of publication.
Sources
- OEPM, Spain has two innovation clusters among the world’s 50 most important (8 September 2026)
- WIPO, press release PR/2026/958 on the GII 2026 innovation clusters ranking (8 September 2026)
- WIPO, GII 2026 innovation cluster ranking
- BOE, Ley 24/2015 de Patentes, consolidated text (Articles 21 and 80; last updated 4 July 2018)
