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Strategies for Protecting Clean and Sustainable Technologies

Dr Justin Blows

Patent Attorney, Griffith Hack

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GRIFFITH HACK

• chemical, physical and biological carbon capture and storage

• carbon credits and trading• hydroelectric and tidal power• vehicle energy storage • energy efficient structures• solar thermal & photovoltaic• wind• biofuel• thermal recycling• recycling tyres

• natural ventilation• energy harvesting• co- and tri- generation

• pyrolysis of organics• carbon neutral industrial

processes• integrated farming• environmentally friendly

solvents• effluent treatment• environmental impact

monitoring

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THE BIG PICTURE

• Debate about climate change moved to how do we respond

• 2007 Australian per capita emissions:

28t CO2 equivalent

• 2050 target:2t CO2 equivalent?

• Concern about energy security

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GOVERNMENT POLICYRESPONSE

• Use Markets and Free Enterprise

– Cap & Trade scheme

– Enterprises must reduceemissions toremain competitive

– Incentive to licence anddevelop climate changemitigation technology

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PATENTS PROMOTE NEWTECHNOLOGY

• Free enterprise is charged to develop climate change mitigation technology not government

• Patents allow return on investment

• Patents facilitate licensing and diffusion of technologies

• Governments should strengthen or maintain patent rights for climate change mitigation technology

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WHY YOU SHOULD PATENT

• A patent provides exclusive rights

• Patentees get a seat at the negotiating table

• Patentees can extract concessions from competitors

• License or sell patents for profit

• Investors want patents

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DON’T BE LOCKED OUT

• Increasing number of patent filings

• Don’t be left to play catch up

• Danger of being locked out of your market by competitors’ patents

• File defensive patents

• Negotiate your way out of troubleusing your patent

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FILE PATENTS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS

• Developing nations will become the biggest polluters

• Biggest & most economic reductionsin developing world

• Expect strong incentives to bring clean technologies to developing nations

• Clean development mechanism

• Future international carbon trading

• Clean and sustainable technology markets shifting to developing world

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CLAIM CARBON CREDITS

• Generating clean power may generate carbon offsets

• Your technology becomes more valuable if you also protect the credits generated

• Consider patent claims for measuring / calculating amount of CO2 emitted or not, or sequested.

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WATCH OUT

• Regularly search for your competitors patents

• Periodically search the patent landscape to identify landmines and opportunities

• Before starting projectscheck you will not infringe the patents of others

• Check if others havepatented before you

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PROJECTING YOUR CREDENTIALS

• Project & protect your clean and sustainable credentials

– Trademarks

– Domain names

• Get in quick - don’t be locked out

• Take care!

– ‘carbon neutral’

– ‘carbon offset’

– ‘carbon footprint’

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CONCLUSION

Clean and sustainable IP strategy:

– Filing patents to protect your investment

– Using patents for leverage & extract concessions

– Claiming carbon credits in patent applications

– Patenting in the developing world

– Filing defensive patents

– Licensing or selling patentsfor revenue

– Knowing what patents areout there

– Filing trademarks