The role of innovation in improving energy efficiency and fighting climate change topped the agenda as the European Patent Forum kicked off on Tuesday, featuring over 350 innovators, intellectual property experts and government representatives.
The debate is about whether the European patent system is sufficiently promoting such innovation or whether change is needed, Alison Brimelow of the European Patent Office told the press in Ljubljana at the onset of the event.
As Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak noted, greater demand for energy and higher prices are driving the search for new energy sources and innovation in this field.
Such innovations are now becoming economically viable, Vizjak said, but added that the European patent application was too bureaucratic and nine times as expensive as in the United States.
Since this is one of the priorities of the Slovenian EU presidency, measures to simplify the procedure would be announced next week, according to Biserka Strel, the head of the Slovenian Patent Office.
European Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said that the EU was aware of the importance of innovators in the "new industrial revolution".
He said the Commission would release at the end of this month a new strategy on the sustainable development of enterprises and sustainable production/consumption.
Moreover, the energy efficiency rating of appliances would be extended to products, such as doors or windows, which are not direct consumers of energy but nevertheless affect consumption.
The programme would eventually be extended to products which affect the consumption of raw materials, Verheugen explained.
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