Patent Law

Patents Going Green

By Stephen Albainy-Jenei

A relatively new blog that’s getting some attention is the Green Patent Blog, a site “dedicated to discussion and analysis of intellectual property issues in clean technology.”  I have to admit, I’ve become a little skeptical of all the greenwashing that’s been going on in the world so I sometimes roll my eyes at any effort that seems to spend more time and money telling you their green than actually goes towards being green.

But the Green Patent Blog is no wash job. Featuring patent items on everything from Carbon Sequestration to Fuel Cells, this blog highlights many interesting patents and developments in clean technology.

One noteworthy item highlights the Eco-Patent Commons, an initiative by IBM, Sony, Pitney Bowes and Nokia to share patented technology that (purportedly) protects the environment.  Each company has donated at least one patent to the Commons, which is administered by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a Geneva-based organization that promotes sustainability in business. 

Members of the Eco-Patent Commons (known as ?pledgers?) sign a nonassert pledge promising not to enforce the donated patents against those who use the patented technology to achieve an environmentally beneficial result (known as ?implementers?).   

But, in an effort to make it confusing,  depending on whether or not the implementer asserting its patent against the pledger is another pledger, the pledger may, at its option, terminate the nonassertion against you if:

(a) you are a member of the Commons and you (or someone acting in concert with you) assert an unpledged patent against that pledger’s infringing components where such components alone (or when included in a product or service) reduce/eliminates natural resource consumption, reduce/eliminate waste generation or pollution, or otherwise provide environmental benefit, or (b) you assert any patent against that pledger and you are not a Member of the Commons.

Got that?

We think you’ll like the Green Patent Blog and look forward to more good stuff.

Full post as published by Patent Baristas on May 07, 2008 (boomark / email).