Public Data and Next Generation EU: What Changes for Tech Companies in 2026

Key data

Technology companies working with public data in Spain have a new window of opportunity. The agreement published on April 21, 2026 between the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function and the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) launches the project «Public Data Demand Management», financed with Next Generation EU Funds within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

The objective is clear: to improve the availability and use of public data in Spain. For companies already working with open data or exploring business models based on administrative information, this can translate into access to richer, better-structured and more easily reusable datasets.

What does this regulation establish?

The agreement formalizes collaboration between two key bodies of the Spanish administration to jointly develop the project «Public Data Demand Management». The main elements it establishes are:

• Institutional collaboration: The Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function and the OEPM combine capabilities to manage and improve access to public data.
• European financing: The project is entirely financed with Next Generation EU Funds, which guarantees resources for its execution within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan framework.
• Focus on industrial property data: The participation of the OEPM indicates that the project will include data related to patents, trademarks and other industrial property assets, especially relevant for innovative companies and R&D departments.
• Digitalization of the public sector: The initiative strengthens the digitalization of the administration and the reuse of administrative data, in line with the European data agenda.

This agreement does not modify or repeal any previous regulation directly. It is an instrument of inter-administrative collaboration that launches a specific project with European financing.

Economic and operational impact

This agreement does not generate direct costs for private companies. Its impact is mainly one of opportunity, not obligation. The concrete effects that different types of organizations can expect are:

• Technology companies and data startups: Greater availability of quality public data can reduce information acquisition costs and open new product or service lines based on industrial property and administrative data.
• R&D and innovation departments: Improved access to OEPM patent and trademark data facilitates technological surveillance, competitive analysis and detection of innovation opportunities.
• Consulting and analysis firms: The reuse of higher quality administrative data can enrich the market reports and analyses they offer to their clients.
• Public bodies: They will need to adapt their internal data management processes to align with the standards established by the project.

The direct negative impact is practically nil for the private sector. The main risk is not taking advantage of the opportunity: companies that are not aware of the new datasets that are released will lose competitive advantage against competitors who do integrate them into their business models.

Who does it affect?

• Technology companies that develop products or services based on public or open data.
• Data startups and scale-ups that use administrative information as raw material.
• R&D departments of industrial and technology companies that conduct patent and trademark surveillance.
• Innovation and industrial property consulting firms that advise companies on patent and trademark strategy.
• Researchers and universities that work with public data for applied research projects.
• Public bodies and administrations that manage or consume administrative data.
• Market intelligence companies that integrate industrial property data into their analyses.

Practical example

A Spanish competitive intelligence startup that currently manually extracts patent and trademark data from the OEPM portal to offer technological surveillance reports to its clients could benefit directly from the «Public Data Demand Management» project as follows:

If the project improves the availability and structuring of OEPM industrial property data, this startup could access more complete, updated datasets in reusable formats (APIs, downloadable datasets), reducing manual processing time and expanding the coverage of its reports. This would translate into lower operating costs and greater capacity to scale its service without proportionally increasing its team of analysts.

The same principle applies to any company that today dedicates resources to collecting and cleaning public data from administrative sources: the project seeks precisely to reduce that friction.

What should companies do now?

1. Identify if your company uses public or industrial property data: If your business model or R&D processes depend on patent, trademark or other administrative data, this project affects you directly and you should monitor its evolution.
2. Monitor OEPM and Digital Ministry publications: The agreement is underway, but improved datasets will be published progressively. Subscribe to the news channels of the OEPM and the Electronic Administration Portal.
3. Evaluate business opportunities based on new data: Commission your product or innovation team to analyze what new services or internal improvements could be developed with greater availability of quality public data.
4. Review your open data strategy: If you are a public body or a company that collaborates with the administration, analyze how to align with the data reuse standards established by this project.
5. Consult the full text of the agreement: To know the exact scope of the collaboration, execution timelines and expected deliverables, access the official text published in the BOE.