If an invention was made while under employment, the intellectual property rights officially belong to the employer. Technostarters employed by one of the (participating) Amsterdam research institutes should contact the respective Technology Transfer Office (TTO) to evaluate and/or protect their inventions/ideas. If all requirements are met, the TTO will file a patent application.
But also existing patents are an important factor for your business potential. It is important to investigate if there are patents which pose a threat to your business and/or if you can obtain a licence to any such crucial patents.
The application and investigation of patents is executed by patent offices. There are five patent offices represented in the I amstarter-network. If you want more background information on patents, please visit their websites.