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Address given at the "European Inventor of the Year 2008" Awards Gala

Alison Brimelow, President of the European Patent Office, Ljubljana, 6 May 2008

Désolé. Actuellement, cette page n'existe pas en français.

Mr President of the Republic of Slovenia,
Mr Vice-President of the European Commission,
Mr Chairman of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour and a pleasure for me to welcome you today to the "European Inventor of the Year 2008" Awards Gala here in Ljubljana.

• We are honoured to accept Slovenia's kind hospitality at this third "Inventor of the Year" Gala.
• This hospitality is an expression of the close co-operation between the EU Council Presidency and the event's organisers, the European Commission and the European Patent Office.

Your attendance here, Mr Verheugen, also reflects the close collaboration between our two organisations in promoting innovation through patent protection in Europe.

• The initiatives taken by the Slovenian Council Presidency in this area have bolstered that collaboration.
• The purpose of this gala is to recognise 12 inventors for outstanding  technical innovations that have improved the lives of many people within and outside Europe in a lasting way.
• Four of them will be awarded the title of "European Inventor of the Year 2008".
• The award winners are representative of all those inventors who deserve recognition for their contribution to technical progress, growth and employment in Europe.
• I am particularly pleased that patent examiners both at the national patent offices of our member states and at the European Patent Office took part in selecting these inventions, which were patented between 1993 and 2002 and have since achieved economic success.
• The inventions chosen cover a wide range of subjects, from car manufacturing and aeroplane engines to orthopaedics, light microscopy and the compression of video signals.
• I would like to welcome warmly the six members of our international jury who have chosen the four winners in the categories of industry, SMEs/research, lifetime achievement and non-European countries.
• The Nobel prize awarded to Peter Grünberg last year for his discovery of the giant magnetoresistance effect testifies to the quality of our nominations and the relevance of the jury's work: Peter Grünberg received a "European Inventor of the Year" award for the same invention in 2006.
• The quality of the nominated inventions also reflects the quality of the European patent system that is there to protect them.
• It is only by granting high-quality patents that we can ensure the marketability and economic success of landmark European inventions.
• Technical inventions and socially effective innovations are inextricably linked via the patent system: the success of our nominated inventions shows that.
• Europe needs a robust, high quality patent system (not necessary cheap but good value) to safeguard its position as a high-tech region and to foster innovation effectively.
• The "European Inventor of the Year 2008" Gala will no doubt contribute to promoting that important strategy.
• I would like at this point to thank all those taking part in this event and, in particular, the nominees, the sponsors (eulogists), the presenters and the artists.

I hope that all of you have an unforgettable evening and thank you for your attention.