The European Inventor Award organised every year by the European Patent Office, and supported by epi, broke new ground in 2021 and was held in an all-digital format for the first time in its history. The live ceremony reached thousands of viewers worldwide, and subsequent media coverage has been impressive, receiving over 3 500 reports in journals, blogs, websites and TV shows. In addition, its impact on social media has been substantial, reaching over 18 million users. With a new benchmark set, it is essential that we continue to receive high-quality nominations. These will enable the organisers to reach an even broader audience and showcase the positive impact of innovation on society.
The EPO is very grateful to European Patent Attorneys for their contribution in identifying Europe’s most incredible inventors. They are indeed ideally placed to spot exceptional candidates and the EPO would be delighted to have again the support of European Patent Attorneys in the search of inventors for the next European Inventor Award. You are invited to nominate inventors before 1 October 2021. For further information on the nomination process and selection criteria or to submit a proposal, please refer to epo.org/nominate.
The eligibility criteria for existing categories remain unchanged.
Inventors must have been granted a European patent, have achieved significant technological progress in their field and benefitted the economy and society through their work.
As part of the efforts to break new ground with the Award, the EPO has also recently introduced the Young Inventors prize to inspire the next generation of inventors. The prize is aimed at innovators 30 and under and will recognise initiatives that use technology to solve a problem within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework. An idea, project or product may be proposed in any technical field, as long as the nomination is accompanied by supporting information already in the public domain.
All finalists for the next European Inventor Award will be announced in May 2022. In the meantime, if you have any questions on the Young Inventors prize or the European Inventor Award in general, you are warmly invited to contact the project team at gro.openull@rotnevni-naeporue.
Source: epi – European Patent Institute
