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>[07.Aug.09]
Patents – Green patents and the climate
change conference
Source: European Patent Office [Adapted]
The European Patent Organisation
(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 recently 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 de Janeiro 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.
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