Who owns our Low Carbon Future?
Intellectual property and energy technologies
14 December 2009
Bernice Lee
Research Director - Energy, Environment and Resource Governance
Chatham House – Royal Institute of International Affairs
[email protected]
1
Chatham House and CambridgeIP have developed a patent
database focused on six energy technologies
Chatham House and
CambridgeIP have
developed a unique
collection of patent
databases and related
analyses focused on 6
areas of energy technology
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Wind
Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST)
Biomass to Electricity
Cleaner Coal
Solar PV
Carbon Capture
The study involved nine months of research across the technologies (and over
30 sub-sectors). A database of close to 57,000 patents over 30 years has
been compiled and profiles were developed of selected patent owners. In
addition, the team reviewed aspects of corporate strategy and practice,
such as collaboration, licensing, litigation and mergers and acquisitions.
2
Apart from wind and solar PV, patenting activities growth in
other cleaner energy sectors are surprisingly sluggish
Patent applications may be unpublished for 18+ months. Therefore the
number of reported patents for the last 2 years may be underrepresented.
3
The sub-sectors indicate where the value of inventions
lie within these complex technology systems
CSP
900
1400
700
1200
600
1000
Patent filings
Patent filings
800
500
800
400
Engine
Tracker
Computing & Sensors
Heat Transfer
Nanotech Related
Mirror
Amorphous Silicon
2500
Biomass
700
Cd Te
CIS & CIGS
Dye Sensitized
20
06
20
04
20
02
20
00
19
98
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
19
82
19
80
19
76
20
06
20
04
20
02
20
00
19
98
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
0
19
82
200
0
19
80
400
100
19
78
200
19
78
600
300
Organic/Polymer
Number of patents by year
Wind
Wind Energy Space and subspaces
2000
500
1500
Patent filings
600
1000
400
300
500
200
100
0
0
Combustion based system
Gasification-based system
Co-firing
Cleaning/ purification issue
20
08
20
06
20
04
20
02
20
00
19
98
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
19
82
19
80
1976
19
78
19
76
19
76
Solar PV
1600
1978 1980 1982
1984
1986 1988 1990
1992 1994
1996
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Gearbox & Drive Train
Generator
Blade/Wings
Software/ Control Systems
Offshore related
Energy storage
4
Policy works. Patenting has generally grown with
deployment rate
Wind
Solar PV
5
The concentration of patent ownership cannot be assumed
to be synonymous with a lack of competition or a monopoly,
but it can slow innovation and diffusion in some types of
markets depending on the business models.
6
Concentration varies… but top 20 assignees take
around 25-35% in 5 out of 6 technologies
Top 20 and 50 Firms
Patent-ownership concentration is
technology specific
Concentration vs # patents
And not correlated with total
number of patents
7
Patent families indicate the commercial value of inventions
As expected there is a
quick drop-off in the
number of patent
families with >5 and
>10 patents
In each technology field there’s 250500 patent families with >10
members
8
High-carbon companies control some of the key
knowledge assets needed for the low carbon economy
9
Patent filing locations indicate an intention to invest,
sell (equipments or technologies) or license
10
Geographical origins of assignees indicate innovation
capacities
11
But the picture changes if you look at the location of
parent companies. Companies and institutions in OECD
countries will determine the speed of diffusion of the most
advanced energy technologies in the next decade.
Geographical origin of parent companies of assignees holding more 4 patents
12
The public sector is also a key actor, and their role is
likely to expand
13
The median age of corporations indicate
the advantages of older institutions and companies
14
Cooperation on technology innovation and development
is primarily a national activity
Jointly assigned patents: developingdeveloped economies share
15
And a lot of collaboration takes place among
companies, from the same country
Jointly assigned patents: organisation mix
16
To speed up diffusion, there is a need to broaden inventor
networks to encourage faster cross-fertilization between
inventions from different sectors in different countries.
17
Speed matters. Sticking to what we know – and
business-as-usual practices – will not bring these muchneeded technologies to markets fast enough to meet
medium and long term goals
• Inventions in the energy sector have generally taken two to three
decades to reach the mass market. This time lag is mirrored by the
time it takes for any patented technology to be become widely
used in subsequent inventions. Citation data indicate that, across
the six sectors examined here, it takes between 19 and 30 years
with an average of around 24 years. The process of registering a
patent can take many years.
• The diffusion time for clean technologies globally will need to be
halved by 2025 to have a realistic chance of meeting climate goals.
18
Some pragmatic recommendations
to build more collaborative rules of the game
•
‘Model’ R&D cooperation agreements. Government support for clean energy
innovation is more likely to be effective at the early stages of the development of
technology systems.
•
Publicly backed energy patent pools and knowledge-sharing platforms. Through
tax, other fiscal or investment incentives, the public sector should support the design
and creation of patent pools and cross-licensing schemes to encourage innovation and
mass diffusion for relevant technologies. These patent pools can be used to support
innovation in SMEs and emerging markets in exchange for a royalty fee.
•
A global database on licensing data and best practices. The development of a
reliable patent-licensing database could assist in setting benchmarks and sharing best
practices. As a first step, there is a role for an escrow service through which privatesector data are pooled and shared on an anonymous basis on the open market to set
benchmarks. Institutions like WIPO can set up global databases on licensing and
cross-licensing regimes as well as patent pools on climate-friendly technologies. Patent
owners could register their licensing deals (and showcase their latest commercial
success) within a specified time period (such as 18 months) to protect their latest
commercial interests.
19
International cooperation to transform the marketplace
to double diffusion rate by 2025
•
At the global level, the Copenhagen Summit must send credible and
unambiguous signals to the global markets that far-reaching change is
imminent and inevitable. Joint-venture companies, cross-training
programmes, cross-licensing arrangements, trade tariff exemptions on
selected technologies and joint manufacturing programmes are all triedand-tested methods that could be stepped up at national and local levels.
Governments can also help shape the global value chains of clean
energy sectors through:
•
Supporting global demonstration programmes
•
Maximizing the potential of technology standards bodies
•
Supporting open innovation mechanisms
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Conclusions
•
A rights-based approach – on both sides of the argument – is likely to
result in log-jams and not solutions.
•
We are beginning to acquire the data needed to focus on diffusion
rate. To set benchmarks, we need many new public-private
partnerships – in creating the database, A sector-based approach is
key.
•
The high carbon sectors have many technological assets to offer. How
to harness them while in the long term change their business model?
So cross-sector learning would need to be factored into future
mechanisms and policies.
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Thank you
•
Who Owns our Low Carbon Future? Intellectual Property and Energy
Technologies
•
Website:
www.chathamhouse.org.uk
•
Contact:
Bernice Lee [email protected]
Ilian Iliev [email protected]
Felix Preston [email protected]
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