WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling

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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling

• Christian Soltmann
• Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property,
  Berne

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Structure

• Overview Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual
  Property
• WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
• Conclusions/general remarks

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Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property
(1/3)Overview

• Before 1996
• Federal Office of Intellectual Property
• Since 1996
• enterprise according to New Public Management
  philosophy
• supervision by board of management
• financially independent from federal sector
• public and commercial activities are separated

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Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property
(2/3)Major tasks

• examination of applications, granting and
  administration of patents, trademarks, designs
• supply of services for the federal sector
• supply of services for the public, e.g. for
  individuals unversed in intellectual property
  issues
• supply of commercial services for professional
  users of intellectual property

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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
(1/8)General

• WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
• forms part of WIPOs Developing Tools for Access
  to Patent Information project
• project aim improving transfer of technology to
  developing countries and facilitating access to
  publicly-available patent information

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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
(2/8)Objectives

• identify and present overview of technologies for
  cooling devices driven by solar power
• focus on technologies that can be used by the
  population in rural areas of developing countries
• technologies helping to improve environment, life
  and health of humans, animals and plants and food
  security
• present solar cooling devices or processes which
  are easy to use, require low maintenance, can be
  serviced with little effort
• exemplify how specific technical subject matter
  can be searched in patent databases
• may serve as a source of information for decision
  makers on political level

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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
(3/8)Methodology

• qualification search and analyses were carried
  out and quality-controlled by patent and search
  specialists in related technical sectors
• quality analyses were based on high quality
  patent data
• strategy
• no restrictions to countries or regions
• no explicit time limits
• different search concepts
• screening and categorisation of individual
  documents
• statistical analysis

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WIPO patent lanscape report on solar cooling
(4/8)Important results

• numerous inventions in the field of solar cooling
  were filed for patent protection in
  industrialised countries only
• various patent applications for solar cooling
  technologies were filed more than 20 years ago
  public domain

Free state of the art
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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
(5/8)Important results

• many inventions address applications potentially
  relevant to developing countries
• for numerous inventions in the solar cooling
  field, only one patent application was filed

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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
(6/8)Important results

• most active countries developing and applying for
  patent protection of solar cooling technologies
  United States, Germany, China, Japan and France
• most patent documents were published in Europe,
  North America and Asia only few patent documents
  published in Africa and South America

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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
(7/8)Conclusions

• analysis no standard procedure
• required
• high-quality patent data/patent databases
• qualified/trained staff, appropriate technical
  background, experienced in using patent data

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WIPO patent landscape report on solar cooling
(8/8)Conclusions

• results of WIPO landscape report may serve as a
  source of information for decision makers on
  political level (top-down)
• results of report were processed to help
  potential users of solar cooling technologies to
  use patent information (bottom-up)
• important disseminate patent information to
  potential users through appropriate channels

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Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual
PropertyServices for the public

• critical issue knowledge transfer
• problems exists in industrialised and developing
  countries
• approach in Switzerland
• open-door policy/low-threshold services attuned
  to target groups individuals, enterprises and
  researchers
• training courses specifics of intellectual
  property, legally available protection,
  availability of (patent) information
• assisted patent searches with patent and search
  specialists to facilitate access to required
  patent information

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Thank you very much!

• Further information
• www.ipi.ch/enwww.ip-search.ch
• Contact
• Swiss Institute of Intellectual
  PropertyStauffacherstrasse 65/59gCH-3003 Berne
• Tel. [phone] Fax [phone]
  93info_at_ipi.ch