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The Winners of the European Inventor Award 2013

Editorial Board — Tue, 28 May 2013 11:58:05 +0000

European Inventor Award 2013 goes to outstanding inventors from Austria, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and the US

· European Patent Office honours pioneering inventors of LCD technology, nano-capsules for cancer treatment, pyrosequencing, USB, and ‘Blumotion’ damper system for doors

· EPO President Benoît Battistelli: “These inventors have been truly exemplary, not only in coming up with ingenious solutions to the challenges of our time, such as healthcare and climate change, but also in improving people’s lives through the quality of the products and services that we are using every day, and by creating jobs to promote economic wealth”

Amsterdam, 28 May 2013 — The European Patent Office today announced the winners of the European Inventor Award2013, which honours outstanding inventors for their contribution to social, economic and technological progress.

Some 500 guests attended the award ceremony at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, including Her Royal HighnessPrincess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Sander Dekker, the Netherlands State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, and Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.

The 2013 awards were presented in five categories, in addition to the Popular Prize:

· Lifetime Achievement: Martin Schadt (Switzerland), inventor of the world’s first flat-panel liquid crystal display, better known as LCD. Schadt’s technology has paved the way for the low-energy devices, such as flat screens, tablet computers and mobile phones, now used by millions of people worldwide.

· Industry: Claus Hämmerle and Klaus Brüstle (Austria) from Austrian manufacturer Julius Blum for their invention of a damper system for soft closing of furniture doors, drawers and wall cabinets. ‘Blumotion’ has seen enormous market success worldwide and has become an industry standard.

· Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Pål Nyrén (Sweden) for inventing pyrosequencing ─ a far faster, less complicated and cheaper method of sequencing DNA strands. Its combination of lower costs and greater speeds has revolutionised the study of the building blocks of life, and opened up new avenues for research into personalised treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases such as cancer.

· Research: Patrick Couvreur, Barbara Stella, Véronique Rosilio, Luigi Cattel (France, Italy), a team at Paris-Sud University, for their invention of nano-capsules – 70 times smaller than red blood cells and protected by a biodegradable coating – which destroy cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.

· Non-European Countries: Ajay V. Bhatt, Bala Sudarshan Cadambi, Jeff Morriss, Shaun Knoll, Shelagh Callahan (USA), for creating and developing Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology, one of the most important advances in computing since the silicon chip. An industry standard today, USB not only allows users to more easily connect devices to a computer, it also streamlines work for hardware and software developers. It is found in billions of electronic devices all over the world, from webcams to cell phones and memory sticks.

José Luis López Gómez (Spain), winner of the Popular Prize award on the stage of the European Inventor Award 2013

· The winner of the Popular Prize was José Luis López Gómez (Spain), whose invention to use a unique ‘independent guided’ wheel design rather than a standard axle on high-speed passenger trains makes those trains some of the most comfortable and safe in the industry. The new technology also helps to reduce energy consumption, premature wear and costs of maintenance. An electronic system monitors the speed at which the wheels are rotating. Due to the wheels’ slightly conical shape and the difference in length between the inner and outer tracks on a curved section of track, the system can determine the wheels’ exact contact point. Pneumatic struts attached to the wheels then move the wheels to the best position.

“Innovation holds the key to safeguarding quality of life and economic prosperity in Europe,” said EPO President Benoît Battistelli at the award ceremony. “All of the inventors honoured here today have been truly exemplary, not only in coming up with ingenious solutions to challenges of our time, such as healthcare and climate change, but also in improving people’s lives through the quality of the products and services that we are using every day, and by creating jobs to promote economic wealth. They demonstrate Europe’s creative drive and inventive spirit, and the role played by patents in supporting this.”

About the European Inventor Award

Launched in 2006, the European Inventor Award is presented annually by the European Patent Office. The Award honours inventive individuals and teams whose pioneering work provides answers to the challenges of our age and thereby contributes to social progress, economic growth and prosperity. Nomination proposals are submitted by the public, and by patent examiners at the EPO and Europe’s national patent offices. Fifteen finalists and, subsequently, the winners are chosen from among the nominees by a high-profile international jury which includes experts from business, politics, media, academia and research. The Award is presented in five categories: Industry, Research, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Non-European Countries, and Lifetime Achievement. This year, for the first time, the general public was invited to vote for the Popular Prize from among the 15 finalists.

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European Inventor Award 2013 ceremony in Amsterdam

Editorial Board — Tue, 28 May 2013 00:06:39 +0000

As one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind, the European Inventor Award each year pays tribute to the creativity of inventors, whose quest for new ideas drives technological progress and economic growth, shapes our society and improves our daily lives. The award not only gives inventors the recognition they deserve, it also encourages future innovation.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the European Patent Convention from which the European Patent Office (EPO) was born. The event, which takes place in Amsterdam, will feature a prestigious award ceremony and bring together some of the world’s brightest innovators, along with key decision makers in business, politics, media and the sciences.

The 2013 edition of the European Inventor Award will be presented by the EPO on Tuesday 28 May, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. At the award ceremony, 15 inventors from eleven countries (link) in five nomination categories will be honoured for their outstanding contribution to technical progress and economic growth, and five of them will be distinguished as winners of the European Inventor Award. In addition, a Popular prize will be awarded for the first time to one of the 15 nominees.

Some 500 guests will attend the award ceremony at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, including Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Sander Dekker, the Netherlands Minister for Education, Culture and Science, and Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.

The event will open at 09.30 hrs CET with a joint press conference of EPO President Benoît Battistelli and EU Commissioner Michel Barnier, followed by a Q/A session.

The award ceremony starts at 10.45 hrs CET with the arrival of HRH Princess Beatrix, and is scheduled to close at about 12.45 hrs CET.

The following contents are offered for the event on 28 May (all times are CET):

Live Transmission:

· Via Europe by Satellite (to be announced on http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs/schedule.cfm)

09:15 – 10:30 hrs Press Conference

10:45 – 13:15 hrs European Inventor Award ceremony

· Live stream on the Internet website of the EPO:

09:15 – 10:30 hrs Press Conference

10:45 – 13:15 hrs European Inventor Award ceremony

For further information, please contact: Oswald Schröder Spokesperson, EPO oschroeder@epo.org

Image source: http://www.epo.org/learning-events/european-inventor/event-1.html

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Australian scientists win European Inventor Award 2012

Editorial Board — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:17:13 +0000

· European Patent Office honours outstanding inventors with European Inventor Award in Copenhagen

· Australian prize winners Dr. John O’ Sullivan, Dr. Terence Percival, Graham Daniels, Diethelm Ostry and John Deane paved the way for today’s Wi-Fi technology

· EPO President Benoît Battistelli: “The work completed by Dr. O’Sullivan and his team perfectly demonstrates how a publicly funded Research Centre can use patent protection and licensing revenue to finance further innovation.

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Australian team nominated for European Inventor Award

Editorial Board — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:55:36 +0000

Dr. Josef Theurer is nominated in the category Lifetime achievement for his railway track-laying machines

Dr. John O’Sullivan and team nominated by European Patent Office for paving the way for Wi-Fi. Australian scientists laid world standard in modern communication and licence out their invention all over the globe.

Battistelli: “The innovation led by Dr. O’Sullivan and team has impacted on our daily life to an extent that only few inventions have achieved before.

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