 Miguel Sebastián, the Spanish Minister for Industry, Tourism and Trade, has said that innovation and the protection of intellectual property is a priority for the Spanish government, which currently holds the EU presidency.
Speaking on Thursday at the European Patent Forum 2010 in Madrid, he underlined the importance of innovation as a social, economic and cultural driver. "It is innovation that distinguishes the leading countries from all others," he said.
Taking up the topic of this year's forum, renewable energy, the minister said that Spain was committed to pushing innovation in this field. "We are looking at the processes in green patenting," he said, adding that he would like to see green patents granted within 12 months.
Looking ahead to an innovation and research plan due to be presented in September, Françoise Le Bail, Deputy Director-General of DG Enterprise and Industry at the European Commission, said: "We would like to move from merely protecting intellectual property to a model that disseminates the knowledge in patents," she said, calling for "a more pro-active, more economic approach to IP".
Ms Le Bail went on to say that the EC is working on an eco-innovation plan help Europe to take advantage of the "huge opportunities in terms of clean technology markets."
UNEP's Gaetano Leone
Her words echoed a keynote speech delivered earlier in the day by Gaetano Leone, from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He told the conference that the current crisis presents an "unprecedented opportunity" to move towards a green economy.
"Technologies that lower carbon emissions, reduce the depletion of natural resources, and reduce the generation of waste and pollution are not only critical for our future sustainability; they also represent an engine for economic growth and job creation," he said.
"A report by UNEP and the International Labour Organization found that projected investments in the renewable energy sector alone could translate into at least 20 million additional jobs in the sector, making it a much larger source of employment than today's fossil fuel industry."
In her keynote, Wanna Tanunchaiwatana, from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), explained how intellectual property was one of the "sticking points" in attempts to revive negotiations on climate change after a disappointing result in Copenhagen, and said she was at the forum to hear from the IP community. "Issues around
IPR are not going to disappear", she said. "We need to hear what can and cannot work."
Summarising the day's discussions in her closing remarks, EPO President Alison Brimelow said that the EPO's contribution to the discussion on climate change was to provide empirical evidence on green technologies. "It is up to governments to accept and use the empirical evidence and enact measures that cause changes in behaviour," she said.
EPO web site
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