This paper presents preliminary evidence on the patenting activities of 21 200 research institutions - 20 091 higher education institutions (HEIs) and 1 109 public research institutes (PRIs) - for 36 OECD countries and China from 1992 to 2014. Our evidence, which builds on a database that matches research institutions to a sample of their patent applications, indicates patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO) filed by research institutions grew faster than industry patents. Those jointly filed by industry and research institutions grew even faster. However, research institutions’ share in patent applications remains low and their ratio of patents granted to applications is below that of industry. An econometric analysis at postal code level shows that geographical proximity to research institutions is associated with higher industry patenting. Results from an instrumental variable estimation indicate that research institutions positively influence local industry patenting, including in life sciences and digital technologies.