European Patent Office (EPO) Archives - Blog | Trademarkmaldives

Patent Filings for Green Hydrogen Production Technologies on the Rise

On 12^th May 2022, a joint study was published by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) concerning the dynamism and trends in the field of hydrogen that can be produced using renewable electricity via the process of electrolysis. According to the patent statistics, the innovation trends in electrolyzers for the production of hydrogen show a consistent pattern, which says that Patent Filings for green hydrogen production technologies have increased by 18% on average every year since 2005. IRENA has significantly been driving the agenda on hydrogen globally within the broader context of accelerating the worldwide energy transition in pursuit of the 1.5˚C climate objective.

While being the prime subject of many researchers across the globe, hydrogen has undoubtedly emerged as an exceedingly attractive green energy source not just because of its availability in abundance but also because it can be obtained through the electrolysis of water with the help of renewable electricity in the presence of electrocatalysts. Additionally, renewable-based hydrogen can efficiently be used as fuel in fuel cells where water is the only by-product and as feedstock in the chemical sector. It can also replace the fossil sources in synthetic fuels, for instance, when combined well with captured carbon.

As our surrounding environment is showing some signs of grave problems arising in the future, the ultimate demand for cleaner energy has never been greater. Irrespective of the steep increase in the number of Patent Applications filed, the joint study published mentions that significant innovations in electrolyzer technology are still required to reduce the costs further and make it market-ready at industrial levels. Along with various charts and commentary, the joint study shall strike a chord with the investors, companies, and technologists looking forward to understanding these rapidly expanding technology domains in a better way.

The new joint study tracks the patent filings’ evolution over the past 15 years and sheds light on various trends, including:

In 2016, the number of patent families concerning water electrolysis technologies excelled the number of patent filings related to producing hydrogen from fossil sources, for instance, liquid or solid coal and oil-based hydrogen sources. Two years later, in 2018, inventions for electrocatalysts based on cheaper minerals exceeded the number of inventions based on way more traditional but expensive electrocatalysts, i.e., the ones using platinum, silver, gold, or other noble metals, thereby confirming the drive for cheaper alternatives.

The previously mentioned trend is demonstrated and pronounced by an increase in the national patent filings of China. Photo electrolysis is a robust, newly emerging technology capable of integrating hydrogen and electricity production in one step, consequently lowering the production costs. The joint study reports an above-average number of international patent families in this field – 50% of those are filed by universities. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Intellectual Property Filings Improve Globally Despite Covid-19 Pandemic

At the global level, Intellectual Property (IP) filings, including trademarks, patents, and industrial designs, rebounded last year (as per the latest data presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), thereby indicating the resilience of human innovation and creation despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the contrary, the filing activity of both patent and Trademark Applications during the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009 (the Great Recession) had contracted sharply.

As per the World Intellectual Property Indicators report (compiling new data from 150 national and regional authorities), the trademark filing activity rose by 13.7% globally, patents by 1.6%, and industrial designs by 2%.

India has shown a pretty decent improvement in filings related to IP, with higher applications in trademarks (over 15%) and patents (10%), specifically driven by the ones filed in the pharmaceutical sector in 2020.

In 2020, the IP Office in China recorded the highest number of trademark applications. Also, India left behind Japan to secure the 5^th position in terms of trademark filing activity.

The ultimate factor influencing such strong growth in the global trademark filing activity is the robust growth in products and services related to pharmaceuticals, surgical, dental, and medical goods, and advertising and business management.

Concerning pharmaceuticals, the number of filings increased from 4.1% in 2019 to 4.6% in 2020, while those of surgical, medical, and dental goods increased from 1.5% to 2.3%. Such trends were mirrored by some nations that saw significant increases in their respective trademark filing activities. For instance, India’s near about 15.4% growth in its trademark filing activity was driven majorly by the applications filed in the pharmaceutical sXctor.

Furthermore, global patent filing activity returned to growth last year after experiencing the first dip in a decade in 2019 due to a decline in China. In 2020, the IP office in China reported 1.5 million Patent Applications, followed by the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the European Patent Office (EPO). These five offices, together, accounted for 85.1% of the patent applications filed throughout the world.

Among the top ten IP offices, only three nations, including the Republic of Korea (3.6%), India (5.9%), and China (6.9%), recorded growth in the applications filed in 2020.

The Director-General at WIPO, Daren Tang, expressed his views on the strong growth in trademark filings (in particular) in 2020. He said that the double-digit growth in the trademark filing activity shows how enterprises worldwide have brought new products and services to the market despite the massive economic shook.

It is interesting to note that IP’s center of gravity has now shifted to Asia, considering the number of applications filed from the region as per the latest data recorded by WIPO. A decade ago, half of the overall ten IP-related applications were filed in Asia, and, in 2020, this number went close to seven. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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South Africa Grants World’s First-Ever Patent with AI as Inventor

Inventions created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) are the next big thing in the field of innovation. The question, “To whom can a patent be granted for AI inventions?” has been a part of many debates for a pretty long period now. Surprisingly and interestingly, South Africa has recently become the world’s first-ever nation to grant a patent that names AI as its inventor. It has also named the AI’s owner as the owner of the patent invention.

The patent has been secured by the University of Surrey’s professor, Ryan Abbott, and his team. They faced several issues with the Patent Offices across the globe over the dire need to recognize AI as the inventor of patented inventions for many years.

All this while, Abbott was representing Dr. Stephen Thaler, who is the creator of an artificial neural system known as ‘Dabus.’ According to Thaler, Dabus is the sole inventor of a food container capable of improving heat transfer and grip.

Since 2018, Abbott, along with his team, has filed Patent Applications listing Dabus as the inventor in more than ten jurisdictions worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Last year, the High Court in Wales and England supported the decision of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) by rejecting the patent application. In its final ruling, the Court stated that although Dabus created the inventions, it couldn’t be granted a patent as it wasn’t a natural person. Even the European Patent Office (EPO) and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected the application on the same grounds.

In a recent statement delivered, the Director of the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey, Professor Adrian Hilton, said the world is “moving from an age in which invention was the preserve of people to an era where machines are capable of realizing the inventive step.”

Abbott strongly believes that the current situation in law is no longer fit for purpose and could easily put the investment in AI at huge risk. He also pointed towards the increasing use of AI in research and development (R&D) to come up with new drug compounds and support drug repurposing. In such scenarios, he stated that there could be an invention eligible for securing Patent Protection but not an individual eligible to be an inventor. According to Abbott, if what is written in the previous line means that a patent won’t be granted, then companies like Novartis, Siemens, or DeepMind, all of which are investing in AI, won’t be able to use AI in their respective areas.

Welcoming the decision of South Africa, Abbott said that this outcome indeed showcases an understanding of the utmost importance that lies in motivating people to make, develop, and use AI for generating socially valuable innovations. He further added that this decision would serve as a big example to the rest of the world concerning the use of AI in generating human benefits. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com