Policy Discussions and International Organizations
2021 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen
In her State of the Union Address on September 15, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, emphasised the need for Europe to focus on long-term innovation priorities, and to connect them to key green and digital goals. She stated that the EU has the necessary innovation and science capabilities, but needs to create the right conditions to foster innovation. This is particularly important for Europe’s planned digital transformation and in regard to the growing demand for chips, she said, and should be addressed through the European Chips Act, which will invest in European technology sovereignty, strengthen global supply chains, and develop new investment projects for green and digital technologies as part of the European Green Deal.
Read the full story.
WIPO Training: Mentoring and Matchmaking Program on IP for Women Entrepreneurs
Open for applications: WIPO women entrepreneurship program for members of indigenous peoples and local communities. The program supports indigenous entrepreneurs in strategically using intellectual property tools to grow their businesses.
Submit your application by September 6, 2021 here.
Policy approaches to close the intellectual property gender gap
Click here through Innovation Council’s presentation on “Policy approaches to close the intellectual property gender gap”. Innovation Council’s Jennifer Brant and Mark Schultz presented the findings on 29 July during the plenary session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The IC intervention starts at 01:38:52.
Nominate inventors for the European Inventor Award 2022
The European Inventor Award honours inventors not only for the genius of their scientific or technological breakthroughs, but also for the impact their inventions have on our lives. You can help determine who will receive a highly coveted Award trophy by nominating an inventor. Simply complete the nomination form, submit it before the deadline is reached and your inventor could become a finalist in Europe’s foremost innovation prize.
Nominations for the 2022 edition of the European Inventor Award must be sent to the EPO by 1 October 2021.
Key IP considerations for smaller enterprises
The Innovation Council team wrote an article that was published in the June issue of WIPO Magazine. The article, by Phil Wadsworth, with Jennifer Brant and Peter Brown, highlights key IP considerations for smaller companies. In particular, the article highlights the importance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of patents, trade secrets, copyright protections, and trademarks, as well as design rights, and discusses how these protections can facilitate collaboration, successful commercialization, and other beneficial outcomes for small businesses.
EPO announces winners of the European Inventor Award 2021
The European Patent Office’s European Inventor Award 2021, which took place on June 17th, celebrated outstanding inventors and inventor teams from Europe and beyond.
At the ceremony, the winners were announced for each of the five categories: Industry, Research, SMEs, Non-EPO countries, and Lifetime Achievement. These winners were selected by an independent, international jury. The public was also invited to vote for their favourite inventor from among the 15 finalists in the Popular Prize.
Launch of New “Horizon IP Scan” Support Service for SMEs
The European Commission recently launched a service called the “Horizon Intellectual Property Scan.” This tailored, first-line, free-of-charge IP support service is specifically designed to help European start-ups and other SMEs to efficiently manage—and derive value from—IP that they create in collaborative research and innovation efforts, especially those that are connected with EU-funded Horizon 2020/Europe projects. Building on a vast network of experienced, local IP experts, covering all EU Member States and Horizon 2020/Europe associated countries, the Horizon IP Scan team provides individual, professional, jargon-free assessments of SMEs’ intangible assets.
Healthcare Innovation Main Driver of European Patent Applications in 2020
The latest statistics published by the European Patent Office (EPO) show that innovation in healthcare was the main driver of patenting activity in 2020. Medical technology was the field with the most inventions by volume, while pharmaceuticals and biotechnology were the fastest-growing areas. Indeed, in 2020, medical technology retook the top spot for most inventions (from the field of digital communication), while pharmaceuticals and biotech showed 10.2% and 6.3% increases in patent filing, respectively.
Launch of European Innovation Council
The European Commission has launched the European Innovation Council (EIC), with a budget of over €10 billion (in current prices) for 2021-2027, in order to develop and expand breakthrough innovations. Building on a successful pilot programme under Horizon 2020, the new EIC is not only a novelty of Horizon Europe, but it is also unique in the world: it combines research on emerging technologies with an accelerator programme and a dedicated equity fund—the European Innovation Council Fund—to scale up innovative start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Around €3 billion of the EIC’s budget will go towards the EIC Fund.