Workshop III Patents and green technologies - aippi.org · Dr. Bertram Huber, Rechtsanwalt 3 October 2010 IP*SEVA, Backnang (Stuttgart) 1 AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress

Dr. Bertram Huber, Rechtsanwalt

IP*SEVA, Backnang (Stuttgart) 13 October 2010

AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress

Paris, 2010.10.04

Workshop III

Patents and

green technologies

Dr. Bertram HuberRechtsanwalt

IP*SEVA, Backnang (Stuttgart)

US Partner Office: Los Angeles, CA

IP*SEVA SEVA means "service" in Sanskrit

� Intellectual Property for Sustainable Energy Ventures

� IP*SEVA stands for:� Concentration on sustainable energy and environmental technology

� Expertise and experience, esp. in research & development

collaboration, joint venture, and technology licensing agreements

� Globally encompassing international network

� Co-principal: Dr. Cynthia Cannady, Esq., member of the

Bars of the State of California and the District of Columbia,

Los Angeles, CA, USA

� www.IPSEVA.com



What is special about IP*SEVA ?

� GLOBAL perspective and activities

� Unique CONCENTRATION on Sustainable Energy and

Environmental Technologies

� Unusual NETWORK of global connections

� Law Firms, esp. Patent, Corporate, Tax,

Regulatory issues

� Business Opportunities:

R&D Collaborations, Investment

� Financing, Venture Capital





Topics

� Big challenges

� Technical solutions and their cost

� UNFCCC 2009.12 Copenhagen: Results

� Suggested proposals for the IP field

� Contributions by Patent Offices

� Government measures

� Private sector contribution

� Conclusions

Challenges



Where do we come from?

� 1kWh / day

� = daily work efficiency of a human

Dr. Bertram Huber, IP*SEVA

Backnang (Stuttgart), Germany 63 October 2010

Industrialization

� James Watt

� Primary energy

� Wood

� Coal

� Crude Oil

� Nuclear power

� Environmental Problems

� Dust

� CO2

� ...



Possible Solutions

� Wind

� Water

� Sun

� From single PV panel to Desertec (Andasol)

Within six hours deserts receive more energy

from the sun than mankind consumes within

a year

Dr. Gerhard Knies, Desertec Foundation



Status: Generation of Energy *

� Solar

� Solar Concentrating solar power (CSP)

� Solar heating and cooling

� Photovoltaic power (PV)

� Wind energy

� Geothermal

� Geothermal power

� Geothermal heat

� Ground-source heat pump

* In accordance with UNEP, EPO, ICTSD, Patents and clean energy: bridging the gap between

evidence and policy, Final Report, 30 September 2010, Annex 1



Commercialization

/Deployment

Status: Energy Generation (2)

� Hydropower

� Mini Hydro (< 1MW)

� Small hydro (1-10 MW )

� Large hydro (>10 MW)

� Biomass

� Combustion

� Gasification

� Digestion

� Biofuels



Status: Energy Generation (3)

� Ocean

� Tidal range

� Tidal stream

� Wave power

� Ocean thermal

� Energy conversion (OTEC)

� Salinity gradient



UNFCCC 2009.12 Copenhagen

� Discussion, debate, but not many concrete results and

decisions

� No specific result regarding IP …



UNFCCC – Plan and Result

� UN Framework Convention on Climate Change - Plan

� Building on the Bali Action Plan

� Intended coming into effect 2012

� Specific measures and goals

� Clear responsibilities

� UNFCCC – Resut: Copenhagen Accord (3 ½ pages)

� Appendices I and II: Quantified emission targets for 2020 and/or

specific “actions”, respectively

� Promise of financial aid to developing countries

� 2010 – 2012: until around 30 bln. USD

� 2020: 100 bln. USD (public and private)



UNFCCC - Structure, Bodies

� High Level Panel

� Investigation of financial sources, including “alternative financial

sources”

� Copenhagen Green Climate Fund (CGCF)

� Technology Mechanism



Tasks of the CGCF

� Project support, ...

� Technology development and transfer

� “Technology Mechanism” intended to further, enhance

development and transfer

� Specific previous conditions and priorities of the various

countries to be taken into account

� 2015: Review regarding putting into practice of the Accord



Research & Development Effort

� …extremely high!

� Expensive

� UNFCCC (before Copenhagen) estimated yearly requirements

of up to 170 bln. USD until 2030

� Other estimations expect 2 to 3 times as much per year

> 500 bln. USD per year

� Again other estimations arrive at 1 trillion USD/year

(= 1,000,000,000,000 USD)



R&D – Where , by whom?

� 95 % in OECD countries + CN + RU

� 80 % in G8 countries

� Share of private business 70 %

� Decisive to maintain motivation to invest!

� Collaboration is indispensable!



R&D Collaborations Worldwide

� Substantial increase of collaborations in the R&D field

involving partners from

� Industrialized countries

� Emerging economies and

� Developing countries.

� Collaborations between

� Enterprises

� Universities and scientific institutions

� Government agencies



Definitions

� Environmentally Sound Technologies (EST)

� Climate Change Mitigation Technologies (CCMT)

� Clean energy technology (CET)

� What is it exactly? What is not comprised?

� Not easy to define

� Principally not narrow; examples:

� Heat and drought resistant crop

� Wind energy turbine

� More efficient computer technology

� …



Proposals for the IP Field

� Improved patent information, databases

� Patent free areas

� Patent pools

� Compulsory licensing

� Structured licensing mechanisms

� Greening of patent laws



Improved Patent Information

� Generate new databases?

� We have them already!

� EspaceNet� http://ep.espacenet.com/advancedSearch?locale=en_EP

� WIPO PatentScope� http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/search-adv.jsp

� Specifically for EST / CCMT

� UNEP, EPO, ICTSD, Patents and clean energy: bridging the gap

between evidence and policy, Final Report, 1 October 2010



Patent Free Areas

� Eco Patent Commons – WBCSD

� Free of charge

� But: license ends, when patent holder is being attacked by

licensee, regardless on which technical field



Patent Pools

� “Real” Patent pools, similar to MPEG-2 etc.

� Usually takes a long time to establish, complicated, bureaucratic

� But also: “one-stop-shop”, (better) transparency, ...

� Core question: amount of (cumulative) license fees



Compulsory Licensing

� Free of charge > no motivation for R&D

� Against consideration:

Really necessary to institute new regulations beyond

existing regimes and practices?

� To a large extent legal regulations already exist



Are Patent Licenses alone sufficient?

� The relevant technologies are (typically) very complex;

reproduction only on the basis of patents is usually not

possible

� Experience, know-how/trade secrets,

capacitation/education etc. are needed in addition



Structured Licensing Mechanisms

� Technology Transfer Mechanism or Technology

Mechanism (11., Copenhagen Accord)

� Aims:

� Make technology transfer happen at all

� Cost control, moderation

� “Single window”

� Efficiency?

� Bureaucracy!

� Practical difficulties...



Structured Licensing Mechanisms (2)

� Model Contracts

� If binding: too narrow, often incompatible, not sufficiently adapted

to specific previous conditions and requirements

� If meant to be a supportive tool only: helpful support

� Generally: Knowledge and experience in IP and technology

transfer, but also research and development and other technology

collaboration projects essential



Greening of Patent Laws

� Will be covered by Estelle Derclaye in her presentation



Contributions by Patent Offices

� Classification

� Speed of processing of patent applications in the EST /

CCMT field

� Preferred treatment at request

� Plus general requirements:

� High quality professional work

� User oriented practices and procedures

� Cost-effectiveness



Efficient Competition Needs Patents

� The size of unresolved problems requires maximized

efforts

� Only possible in a functioning competitive environment

� Correlation between established IP system, including

efficient enforcement, and technology transfer on the one

hand and foreign investment on the other hand

� Probably best example: the development in China in

recent decades

� But also very positive developments in many other

countries: e. g. Brazil, India, ASEAN, ...


IP*SEVA, Backnang (Stuttgart) 30

3 October 2010

Government Measures

� (Internationally coordinated) measures of the

Governments are indispensable

� In order to create the necessary legal framework conditions, to set

(emission) targets – and to ensure compliance therewith

� In order to raise the necessary financial means for developing (and

emerging) countries – by direct financial aid or credits


IP*SEVA, Backnang (Stuttgart) 31

3 October 2010

No Contribution from Private Sector?

� Private sector cannot go back to “business as usual”

(particular after the disaster of the financial crisis)

� Good Governance (Compliance) becomes more important

than ever

� Fair and adequate dealings with business partners are

always the best basis for lasting and sustainable business

relationships

� The civil society is co-responsible for the comprehensive

implementation of such standards



Private Sector (2)

� Renaissance of responsible business behavior necessary

� Not only driven by short-term goals and financial advantage only *

� Responsibility and obligations for

� Own employees and associates

� Society at large

� Social standards

� Environment, climate protection

� ...

� Also needed: responsibility of capital owners and investors

„Profit is as necessary as air to breathe, but it would be bad if we did business to make

profits only as it would be bad if we only lived to breathe.“

Hermann Abs, German banker, 1901 - 1994



Summary/Conclusions

� Preparedness to collaborate is essential, involving

partners from industrialized, emerging and developing

countries

� Responsible attitude of private businesses

� Public regulations, incentives

� Pressure from the civil society

� No new patent regime needed

� = win-win for everybody!





Thank you very much for your attention!

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.IPSEVA.com

US Associated Office:

Cynthia Cannady, Los Angeles, [email protected]

Documents

Workshop III Patents and green technologies - aippi.org · Dr. Bertram Huber, Rechtsanwalt 3 October 2010 IP*SEVA, Backnang (Stuttgart) 1 AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress