Wiley-13-Science-HAPE Editors Choice

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2013

This paper explores the characteristics of 238 patents on 94 "inventions" contributed by major multinational innovators to the "Eco-Patent Commons", which provides royalty-free access to third parties to patented climate change related innovations. By comparing the pledged patents to other patents in the same technologies or held by the same multinationals, we investigate the motives of the contributing firms as well as the potential for such commons to encourage innovation and diffusion of climate change related technologies. This study, therefore, indirectly provides evidence on the role of patents in the development and diffusion of green technologies. More generally, the paper sheds light on the performance of hybrid forms of knowledge management that combine open innovation and patenting.

African Journal of Business Management, 2013

The purpose of the present research was to analyze the global scenario for green patents connected with waste management areas, alternative energies, agriculture, transportation, energy conservation and the prospecting about hybrid cars. The patents analyzed were filed from 1979 to 2011. The data collection method consisted of a technological forecast about the Green Technologies. The research was carried out on the patent base Derwent Innovations Index from Web of Science. Only, 123 Green Technology patents were found in nine countries, including the United States, China,

IIUM Law Journal

The development, deployment and dissemination of low-carbon and other environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) is critical in our response to climate change. Yet, many of these critical technologies are patented and belong to private entities. Malaysia through the National Renewable Energy Policy and National Green Technology Policy, aims to leverage on green technology as a double edge sword; as a tool to spur economic activities whilst at the same time ensuring sustainable development and conservation of the environment for future generations. In order to enhance the uptake of ESTs, Malaysia has identified renewable energy as an impetus. This paper explores the discourse between the patents and climate change at the international level. As the diffusion of ESTs requires modification and adaptation, the issue of how much this can take place without the consent of the patent owner is discussed. The scope of scientific research exemption in Malaysia is examined with a view of determ...

Indian Government has made global commitment to reduce the emissions by 33% to 35% by year 2030. To achieve this target, interventions and improvements in the existing technologies being used would be needed. In this paper using patent data, an effort has been made to find out the trends in the technologies relating to climate change mitigation. The focus of majority of these technologies is to capture and separate carbon dioxide. Majority of these technologies are originating in USA and Japan. It was observed that with 237 patents/applications, L'Air Liquide is the top assignee in the area. In recent years, the leader is challenged by new entrant Altsom Technology, who has been aggressively filing patents and has overtaken L'Air Liquide. The paper reveals major patent owners in various technological relating to climate change mitigation and this information would be helpful in seeking licenses and partnerships or for scouting for the technologies to meet the commitment to reduce the emissions.

Eco-innovations are being recognized as fundamental means to foster sustainable development, as well as to create new business opportunities. Nowadays, the eco-innovation concept is gaining ground within both academic and practitioner studies, with the attempt to better understand the main dynamics underlying its nature and guide policymakers and companies in supporting their development. This paper contributes to the extant literature on eco-innovation by providing a comprehensive and unique overview of the evolution of a specific type of eco-innovations that are playing a crucial role in the current socio-economic agenda, namely low-carbon energy technologies. Accordingly, we focus our attention on the related patenting activity of different countries and organizations over time, as well as on influencing policy initiatives and events. Hence, we collected 131,801 patents granted at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (U.S.PTO) from 1946 to 2010, and belonging to the “Nuc...

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The concept of eco-innovation addresses a reduction in negative environmental impacts and the more efficient use of resources. As an integral part of eco-innovation, green technologies are receiving increasing attention due to growing environmental concerns. Patent data are one of the measures of the output of technological eco-innovation. However, understanding the patenting of eco-innovation comes with challenges. The aim of this study is to measure the output of eco-innovation and to analyse the trends in green technologies based on environment-related patents in the world’s leading countries from 2000 to 2017. For this research, a range of data collection techniques based on patent data from leading countries such as China, Korea, Japan, United States and Germany were employed. The study provides a comprehensive overview of changes and trends in the development of environmental technologies using different domains. In particular, significant progress has been made in the areas o...

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent organic pollutant (POP), which poses potential toxicity to biotic and abiotic ecosystem. Adsorption of PFOS from soil and water has emerged as promising remediation practice due to low cost, high removal performance, low environmental impact, and recalcitrant to induce secondary contamination. In this study, red mud modified sawdust (RMSDN600) and unmodified sawdust (SDN600) were prepared for sorption of PFOS from aqueous solution. The presence of magnetites (Fe 3 O 4), ferrihydrites, and desilicated minerals are identified in the RMSDN600 using XRD (X-ray diffraction) and XANES (X-ray absorption nearedge structure). Sorption isotherm for RMSD600 and SDN600 showed close-fitting with Langmuir and Freundlich model demonstrated monolayer and multilayer sorption of PFOS over the active sites of the adsorbents. The potential formation of micelles and hemi-micelles can occur in interparticle porous biochars as the concentration of PFOS exceeds critical hemi-micelle concentration (4.57-45.7 mg/L). The kinetic study followed Pseudo-second-order model for both adsorbents, demonstrated both physisorption and chemisorption of PFOS. The results revealed the adsorption of PFOS was governed by both hydrophobic and electrostatic interaction, with hydrophobic interaction as the dominant sorption mechanism. The higher adsorption capacity for RMSDN600 (194.6 mg/g) was recorded than that for SDN600 (178.6 mg/g) at pH 3.1 due to the abundance of protonated metal-based functional groups, and more ordered graphitic carbon structure resulting from catalytic degradation and transformation of cellulose and hemicellulose. Aromatic structure can potentially enhance PFOS sorption by nonionic interaction. In contrast, metal-based and other oxygen-containing functional groups of adsorbents enhance adsorption capacity through electrostatic interaction and ion exchange reactions. Lower solution pH and smaller particle size of the adsorbents could also enhance sorption of PFOS from aqueous phase.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2003

When organizers of the National Association of Environmental Law Societies' (NAELS) annual meeting asked me to help explore the interface between patent policy and environmental policy, they wisely recognized that I know relatively little about the environmental side of this interface and consequently asked me to approach matters from the patent side instead. Therefore, this essay explains how patent law operates generally with an emphasis on how it may impact the environment in particular. In so doing, the essay addresses from a patent perspective some representative concerns relating to patents that appear to be prevalent in the environmental literature 1 and shows how the patent system may provide substantial benefit for those favoring the environment. The environmental impact of the U.S. patent system can be best understood by first exploring the patent system's central goals and effects, as well as its general context. The central goal of the U.S. patent system is to provide an economic tool for promoting public access to new technologies. 2 While the central effect of the system

2020

To drive sustainability transitions on a global scale for a carbon neutral future, green innovations are needed. In this study, we are keen to understand the role of intellectual property (IP) and particularly, its usage by firms innovating for a sustainable future. Unfortunately, little is known about how IP impacts sustainability transitions. To contribute to a better understanding, we chose to investigate IP usage by award-winning green innovators. We study the winners of the European Inventor Award, a highly prestigious international prize, awarded annually by the European Patent Office since 2006. Among all 210 awardees, we identified 52 winners that we classified as green innovators. Our analysis shows that closed and semi-open IP, particularly non-exclusive licensing, are the preferred IP strategies for green innovations. The IP strategy preferences seem to vary across technology domains. These findings are discussed along with their implications.