Przestrzenna koncentracja regionalnych źródeł wiedzy w Polsce: rola uczelni w procesie patentowania w latach 2020–2024
Spatial Concentration of Patenting Activity in 2020–2024 as an Indicator of Emerging Regional Knowledge Sources: The Role of Universities in the Patenting Process

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the spatial concentration of granted patents in Poland from 2020 to2024, focusing on the role of public and ecclesiastical universities in fostering innovation. The studyassesses whether higher education institutions serve as key centers of knowledge creation and tech-nological advancement and explores regional disparities in patenting activity. Given the importanceof intellectual property as a measure of a country’s innovation capacity, understanding the geographicdistribution of patents can provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of knowledge transfer,commercialization of research, and regional innovation ecosystems.The analysis reveals that Poland’s patenting activity is heavily concentrated in a few major academicand economic centers. The highest number of granted patents was recorded in Warsaw (1,239), fol-lowed by Kraków (1,052), Lublin (711), Wrocław (653), and Poznań (529). These cities demonstratea high correlation between the number of patents and the presence of universities, indicating thesignificant role of academic institutions in fostering technological progress.This analysis examines the relative intensity of patenting activity in five major Polish academiccenters by assessing two additional indicators: the number of patents per 100,000 inhabitants andthe number of patents per university. Lublin demonstrates the highest values in both metrics, in-dicating a particularly strong academic contribution to patent production relative to its populationsize and institutional base. These findings suggest a concentrated and efficient innovation systemin Lublin, with universities serving as key drivers of knowledge commercialization. In the analyzedurban centers, universities constitute the primary source of patenting activity, accounting for a signif-icant share of all granted patents: Warsaw – 31%, Kraków – 48%, Lublin – 56%, Wrocław – 36%, andPoznań – 41%. In contrast, other institutions such as business incubators and technology parks playa relatively marginal role in the overall structure of patent generation.A key finding of this study is the pronounced regional disparity in patenting activity. Western and cen-tral Poland exhibit significantly higher patenting rates compared to the eastern regions, with Lublinbeing a notable exception. The spatial concentration of patents in a limited number of metropolitanareas highlights the uneven distribution of innovative potential across the country. The relatively lownumber of granted patents in smaller cities and rural areas suggests that the benefits of innovationare not evenly distributed and that certain regions may face structural barriers to technological de-velopment. These disparities may stem from a variety of factors, including differences in industrialstructures, access to research infrastructure, and the extent of collaboration between academia andindustry.The results of the study confirm that universities play a crucial role in the national innovation system,but their impact varies depending on the efficiency of technology transfer mechanisms. The analysisof regional innovation strategies reveals significant variation in how Polish voivodeships conceptual-ize the role of universities in knowledge creation and patenting. Notably, the Lublin region demon-strates the highest relative intensity of patent activity – both per capita and per university – whichaligns with its strategic emphasis on academic institutions as central actors in regional innovationsystems. In cities with strong innovation ecosystems, such as Warsaw and Kraków, patenting activ-ity is driven by well-developed research and development (R&D) infrastructure, robust cooperationbetween universities and the private sector, and access to financial resources. Conversely, in regionswith weaker innovation networks, the presence of universities alone does not necessarily translateinto high levels of patenting activity.

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