A two-day conference on climate change and the opportunities for intellectual property will bring together renowned scientists, economists and politicians from around the world, and the awards ceremony will honour inventors who have made a significant contribution to innovation in Europe. The event is co-organised by European Patent Office, Government of Slovenia, Slovenian Intellectual Property Office, and European Commission.

European Patent Forum

The European Commission and the European Patent Office, in co-operation with the Slovenian Government and the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office, will be hosting the first international conference on climate technology and patenting strategies entitled "Inventing a cleaner future: Climate change and the opportunities for intellectual property". This landmark event with top-flight speakers and guests focuses on the question "How can intellectual property support innovations that benefit the environment and counteract climatic change?".

Keynote speakers will be Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation of  Economic Trends, who will set the tone by looking at what lies ahead with respect to climate change, Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission, who will provide a European perspective on the issues at hand, Alison Brimelow, President of the European Patent Office, Andrej Vizjak, the Slovenian Minister of Economy, Dr. Biserka Strel, the Directress of the Slovenian Intellectual Property Office, and Ivo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Convention and head of the Bali Conference in December 2007. About 350 intellectual property experts, researchers and representatives of government and national government organisations from all over the world will be among those attending.

European Inventor of the Year 2008

At a gala event on 6 May the European Patent Office and the European Commission will honour some of Europe's brightest minds with awards in four categories: "Industry", "SMEs/Research", "Non-European countries" and "Lifetime achievement". The awards will be presented by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Danilo Türk, European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen and EPO President Alison Brimelow.

• Further information

• European Patent Office