A previous post, written by guest blogger Tim Stirrup, discussed the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) WIPO GREENÃÂ platform,ÃÂ an initiative that recently launched afterÃÂ operating for a while in pilot and test mode.
WIPOÃÂ GREEN helps to matchÃÂ green technologyÃÂ innovators with commercialization partners by providing an interactive marketplace including a searchableÃÂ database and a service network.ÃÂ Innovators can uploadÃÂ their green technologiesÃÂ into the database and make contact with potential partners via the networkÃÂ to explore potentialÃÂ licensing or partnership agreements.ÃÂ
The database also enables users to input specific green technology needs with calls to innovators to meet those needs with environmentally sound technologies.
The service network component of the initiative facilitates partnerships through a list of partners and descriptions of their businesses, a registry of service provides, and a list of potential funding sources.ÃÂ
According to WIPO’sÃÂ article on the launch, the pilot and testing phase saw about 1,000 uploads of green technologies, inventions and patents into the database, and the program has 35 partners including the Association of University Technology Managers, the East Africa Climate Innovation Network, and the Japan Intellectual Property Association.
Licensing of any intellectual property relating to the green technologies is governed by individually negotiated agreements between the parties involved.
Giving the WIPO GREEN databaseÃÂ a brief spin revealsÃÂ 548 hits in theÃÂ alternative energy production category,ÃÂ 263 in waste management, 112 in energy conservation, and 29 in transportation.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurryàsaid the organization’sà“growing network of partners and innovative collaborations with major global technology databases”àshould further itsàgoal, i.e.,à“for WIPO GREENàto become a go-to-platform for green technologies” and facilitate the role of “innovative green technologiesà. . . in addressing climate change.”