Patents Publications

Development and deployment of climate change mitigation technologies:evidence to support policy making

In co-operation with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the EPO has published a policy brief on the latest trends in climate change mitigation technologies (CCMTs). The study provides evidence on the dissemination of CCMTs, with a focus on renewable energy technologies and reveals that inventive activity in CCMTs has been increasing globally over the past decade.

Renewable Energy Technology Innovation Policy: A process development guide

Countries can use the “RETIP” process outlined in this handbook to design appropriate innovation strategies for renewable energy technologies. The seven-step process provided in this report presents a platform for

Ocean Energy: Technologies, Patents, Deployment Status and Outlook

IRENA has released a package of work on ocean energy, consisting of an overview report and four technology briefs. Ocean energy technologies could contribute to energy independence, decarbonisation and job creation. Existing patents and announced projects span the globe, with hotspots of activity in the UK, France, USA, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Patents and climate change mitigation technologies in Latin America

This joint study by the EPO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finds that Latin America and the Caribbean has considerable untapped renewable energy potential, which could be harnessed to serve the region's rapidly growing energy needs. It concludes that the patent system has an important but largely under-exploited role to play in fostering climate-friendly innovation in the region, and also technology transfer to and from the region.

WIPO Patent Landscape Reports

WIPOs patent landscape reports provide a snap-shot of the patent situation of a specific technology, either within a given country or region, or globally.

Intellectual Property Rights: The Role of Patents in Renewable Energy Technology

Patent information can provide valuable insights on the renewable energy sector as new technologies arise and markets continue to evolve. IRENA’s report, Intellectual Property Rights: The Role of Patents in Renewable Energy Technology Innovation, outlines how and when to use patents in order take renewable energy technologies forward.

Patents and clean energy in Africa

The EPO and UNEP have conducted a joint study, with the support of OECD's statistical analysis capabilities, and published the results in this report which focuses on the patent landscape for clean energy technologies in Africa.

Finding sustainable technologies in patents

In this brochure you can read how to make the best use of patent documents as a source of information and how to get started if you want to search for sustainable technology inventions in the EPO’s patent databases.

Patents and clean energy - Bridging the gap between evidence and policy

This joint study on the relationship between patents and the development and transfer of clean-energy technologies has yielded important insights, evidence and data which could lead to better-informed policy-making on this important subject.The study's final report includes the findings from a comprehensive mapping of clean energy technologies, an in-depth analysis of the patent landscape for these technologies, and a survey of licensing activities in this field.