Nominees European Inventor Award 2011 announced
Europe's most prestigious innovation prize will be presented in five categories on 19 May in Budapest.Whether high-stability deformable concrete, adjustable spectacle lenses, water purification with ultraviolet light, highly efficient biomass combustion, transmission amplifiers for optical fibre cables or methods for diagnosing Alzheimer's genes: the fifteen nominations for the European Inventor Award 2011 cover a vast span of pioneering technological solutions.
citations, Benoît Battistelli:
"The nominations for the European Inventor Award 2011 are a positive proof that European enterprises can hold their own with cutting-edge products in a wide range of fields," says EPO President Benoît Battistelli. "The inventions that have been nominated owe much of their commercial success to the rational exploitation of European patents. With the revenue from their patents, companies are able to invest billions in research and development year after year. This investment in turn works to the benefit of society as a whole."
Michel Barnier:
"Harnessing technological creativity for marketable innovation is an essential means of ensuring that Europe remains competitive on the global scene," said EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier. "In some expanding fields, clean energy for example, Europe is a world leader, but in others it has room for improvement." "Inventors are key figures in our knowledge society. They secure and create millions of jobs, making a major contribution to Europe's economic future. One of the EU's key duties is establishing the right framework to ensure the long-term innovative capacity of inventive enterprises. The EU patent will be a clear step in that direction, helping to make the European patent system simpler and more transparent," he said.
Selection of fifteen finalists
A large number of proposals were submitted to the EPO and had to undergo rigorous examination on formal and legal criteria. From those that passed, the high calibre international jury, including European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, selected the fifteen finalists, the key factors in its choice being technical content, economic impact and social relevance of the inventions.
Award
Prizes in five categories - Industry, Research, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Non-European countries and Lifetime achievement - will be presented at the award ceremony in Budapest on 19 May. The award was launched by the EPO in 2006 with the support of the European Commission (EC). This year, the EPO, again supported by the EC, is joined by the Hungarian EU Council Presidency in the organisation of the event. For the nominations, see the EPO website
Source: EPO, 3-3-2011
