Brussels, 30 September
2010 - Six countries - Japan, the United
States, Germany, Republic of Korea, France
and the United Kingdom - are the
source of almost 80 percent of all innovations
developed worldwide in the field of clean
energy technologies (CETs). This is one
of the key findings of a patent-based study,
jointly conducted by the European Patent
Office (EPO), the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the International Centre
for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD),
on the emergence and distribution of these
technologies across the globe and their
impact on climate change.
Some 400,000 patent
documents identified from a pool of 60 million
patents at the international level form
the basis of the study, "Patents and
clean energy: bridging the gap between evidence
and policy" which examines the effect
of patents on the worldwide transfer of
CETs, such as solar photovoltaic (PV), geothermal,
wind, and carbon capture. The study also
contains the first-ever survey on licensing,
which provides insights into the licensing
practices of technology holders in this
area.
The main objective of
the study is to provide facts in an area
where there has previously been very little
empirical data.
"The joint study
is both exemplary and ground-breaking in
its cross-sector collaboration to deliver
results that have a direct benefit to society,"
said EPO President Benoît Battistelli.
"Patents play a key role in providing
information about existing technologies,
the level of their development and geographic
spread. This information facilitates an
informed debate on climate change."
"Far from being
a drag on economies and innovation, international
efforts to combat climate change have sparked
technological creativity on low-carbon,
resource-efficient Green Economy solutions.
The challenge now is to find ways in which
these advances can be diffused, spread and
transferred everywhere so that the benefits
to both economies and the climate are shared
by the many rather than the few," said
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and Executive Director of UNEP.
"A massive scale-up
of use and diffusion of clean energy technologies
globally, and in particular to developing
countries, is imperative for effective climate
change mitigation and adaptation. This study
provides evidence and key insights towards
a better understanding of the challenges
facing this objective," said ICTSD
Chief Executive Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz.
Surge of patenting since
the Kyoto Protocol
The study shows clearly
that the surge of patenting activity in
CETs coincided with the adoption of the
Kyoto Protocol in 1997, providing a strong
indication that political decisions can
be important in creating a framework to
stimulate the development of technologies
which are considered to be crucial to the
efforts to address climate change. The statistical
analysis of the data shows that patenting
rates in the selected clean energy technologies
have increased roughly 20 percent per year
since then, outpacing the traditional energy
sources of fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
Among the six OECD countries
that dominate the CET field, Japan leads
the way, followed by the United States and
Germany. The Republic of Korea - focusing
largely on solar PV - is also a key player,
showing a considerable increase in patenting
in recent years. The field is rounded off
by France and the United Kingdom. Moreover,
China is partly following in Korea's footsteps,
emerging as a strong player in the field
of solar PV.
Untapped licensing potential
towards developing countries
The survey found that
there was limited licensing activity in
entities in developing countries and this
was confined mainly to China, India and
Brazil. However, 70 percent of the survey's
respondents were prepared to offer more
flexible terms when licensing in developing
countries with limited financial capacity.
The survey also indicates that intellectual
property rights, alongside other macroeconomic
factors, are important for respondents when
licensing to developing countries.
Public access to state-of-the-art
technology
In the process of the
data collection for the study, the EPO created
a free, easy-to-use digital information
tool, which provides simplified and free
access to all patent documents related to
CETs worldwide, creating a whole new level
of transparency in the CET sector.
Understanding the role
of CETs and their dissemination can potentially
play a large role in efforts to help mitigate
climate change. By taking the lead in launching
a large-scale study into the effects of
patents on CETs, the EPO, UNEP and ICTSD
have shown their willingness to use their
position as expert organisations in their
respective fields to collaborate and provide
data that will create more transparency
and a factual basis for negotiations on
climate change, particularly on enhancing
and accelerating the transfer of these critical
clean technologies.
Notes to Editors:
UNEP
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) is the voice for the environment
in the UN system. Established in 1972, UNEP's
mission is to provide leadership and encourage
partnership in caring for the environment
by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations
and peoples to improve their quality of
life without compromising that of future
generations. UNEP is an advocate, educator,
catalyst and facilitator promoting the wise
use of the planet's natural assets for sustainable
development. It works with many partners,
UN entities, international organizations,
national governments, non-governmental organizations,
business, industry, the media and civil
society. UNEP's work involves providing
support for: environmental assessment and
reporting; legal and institutional strengthening
and environmental policy development; sustainable
use and management of natural resources;
integration of economic development and
environmental protection; and promoting
public participation in environmental management.
EPO
The European Patent
Office - supporting innovation for the benefit
of Europe's citizens
The mission of the European
Patent Office (EPO) is to support innovation,
competitiveness and economic growth for
the benefit of the citizens of Europe. Its
task is to grant European patents for inventions
on the basis of a centralized procedure
for the contracting states to the European
Patent Convention (EPC), which was signed
in Munich on 5 October 1973 and entered
into force on 7 October 1977.
The EPO is the executive
arm of the European Patent Organisation,
an intergovernmental body set up under the
EPC, whose members are the EPC contracting
states. The activities of the Office are
supervised by the Organisation's Administrative
Council, which is composed of the delegates
from the contracting states. The EPO has
its headquarters in Munich, a branch at
The Hague and offices in Berlin and Vienna.
With its workforce of nearly 7,000 staff,
the EPO is one of the largest European institutions.
ICTSD
Founded in Geneva in
September 1996, the International Centre
for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
aims to influence the international trade
system such that it advances the goal of
sustainable development. As an independent,
non-profit, and non-governmental organization,
ICTSD engages a broad range of actors in
ongoing dialogue on trade and sustainable
development policy. In advancing its mission,
the Centre has become a leading broker of
knowledge and information on trade policy
and sustainable development.
With a global network
of governmental, non-governmental, and inter-governmental
partners, ICTSD plays a unique, systemic
role as a provider of original, non-partisan
reporting and facilitation services. ICTSD
advances trade policy that supports sustainable
development by structuring interaction between
policy-makers and key influencers who are
often excluded from policymaking processes.
ICTSD helps parties better understand the
technical and political contexts that underlie
their interests and the interests of those
with whom they interact on policy issues.
In this way, ICTSD builds bridges between
groups with seemingly disparate agendas,
enabling them to identify and progress on
issues where their interests and priorities
coincide.
