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Save this date - 6/7 May 2008, Ljubljana

European Patent Forum 2008 and European Inventor of the Year 2008

Munich, 3 March 2008 - Please reserve space in your diary on Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 May 2008 for a headline event in Ljubljana, Slovenia:

"Inventing a cleaner future" - the first ever international conference on climate technology and patenting strategies.

The European Patent Office, the European Commission and the Slovenian Presidency of the EU will be hosting a two-day conference, with top-flight speakers and guests, dedicated to climate change and opportunities for intellectual property. This landmark event focuses on the question "How can the fields of patenting and intellectual property support innovations that benefit the environment and counteract climatic change?"

6 and 7 May 2008, European Patent Forum: Inventing a cleaner future

Conference (both days) with the main objective to identify the main technological challenges posed by climate change and to contemplate ways in which the patenting  of inventions  can address these issues.

Keynote speakers are Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation of  Economic Trends,  who will set the tone by looking at what lies ahead with respect to climate change, Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission, who will provide a European perspective on the issues at hand, Alison Brimelow, President of the European Patent Office,  the Slovenian Minister of Economy, Andrej Vizjak and Ivo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Convention and head of the Bali Conference in December 2007.

Are there patenting trends environmental technologies? How can patents  be used to generate revenues in the area of clean technology? Are patent rights too strong to support the eco-innovation process? What is role of patents in technology transfer?

About 300 IP experts, researchers and representatives of government and NGOs from all over the world will be among those attending.

6 May 2008, evening: "European Inventor of the Year 2008"- gala

In this annual event, the European Patent Office and the European Commission's DG Enterprise honour some of Europe's brightest minds with awards in four categories as inventors of the year.

The programme

• 6 May 2008, morning (tbc): press conference
  Announcement of the award-winning "European Inventors of the Year 2008"

• 6 May 2008, all day: European Patent Forum
  Meeting of experts, with presentation and discussion of several climate and IP-related topics under the heading " Technologies to save the planet"

• 6 May 2008, evening: Gala and award ceremony for the "European Inventors of the Year 2008"
  By personal invitation only), opened by the Slovenian President, Danilo Türk. The awards will be presented  in four award categories: Industry, SMEs/Research, Non-European Countries, Lifetime Achievement

• 7 May 2008, all day: European Patent Forum
  Meeting of experts, with presentation and discussion of several climate and IP-related topics under the heading "Patenting practice and eco-innovation"

Venue

Grand Hotel Union
Miklosiceva 1, 1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia

Contact 

Please address programme and accreditation enquiries and interview requests to:

Rainer Osterwalder
Director Media Relations

European Patent Office
Erhardtstrasse 27 | D-80469 Munich
Tel. +49 (0)89 2399 1820
Fax +49 (0)89 2399 2850
Mobile +49 (0)163 8399 527
rosterwalder@epo.org
www.epo.org