Green patent survey to provide inputs for climate change conference

7 August 2009

The EPO, together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), is conducting a survey on licensing practices in the area of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs).

The survey is part of a joint project on patents and ESTs which aims at enhancing the understanding of the role of patents in relation to the transfer of, access to and deployment of ESTs, starting with the energy generation sector.  

 Launched this week on the EPO website, the survey examines licensing practices in the area of ESTs. The results of the survey and the findings of the study should provide inputs and recommendations for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference in Copenhagen next December.

Around 1 800 companies and institutions have been specifically invited to fill out the questionnaire, but the survey is open to other organisations working in the field.

According to Agenda 21 (Rio Summit in 1992), ESTs are defined as technologies that protect the environment, are less polluting, use resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their waste and products, or handle residual waste in a more acceptable manner than the technologies they substitute.

Further information

• Surveys: Survey of licensing activities in selected fields of environmentally sound technologies
• News of 27 April 2009: EPO, UNEP and ICTSD to work on green patent study
• UNEP website: Project Description