New Scientist: Despite having created some innovative technology, CERN has not attempted to patent its inventions until now. Responsible for the touchscreen and the World Wide Web, CERN is only now working with the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organization to try to profit from its engineers’ innovations. In the past, CERN’s 20 European member states had avoided patents in order to avoid double-billing members to use the inventions in their own countries.