Last week we reported the launch of the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property’s (INPI) pilot program to accelerate green patent applications.

But there’s a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Though INPI joins several other national intellectual property offices around the world in offering a green patent fast track, this is not simply (more…)

Earlier this week, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) of Brazil launched a pilot program to accelerate green patent applications (see the Folha news piece here).

The goal of the program is to reduce the period of examination of patent applications related to green (more…)

Ioxus is a manufacturer of premium performance ultracapacitor technology for transportation, alternative energy, medical, industrial and consumer markets. Ioxus has focused on improving capacitor (more…)

Every day we read about the global dominance that China is achieving in cleantech, and wish the US could get on the stick as well. Here’s a wonderful presentation by HSBC that explicates China’s commitment to green technologies nicely.

China’s 12th Five Year Plan includes seven Strategic (more…)

In a previous post, this author provided background on the UKIPO’s “Green Channel” for expedited examination of patent applications drawn to environmentally-friendly technologies.

As noted in that post, the program’s two-year anniversary recently past. To mark the occasion, and (more…)

A UN report says that less than one-third of metals are recycled at a rate of more than 50 percent worldwide, and many are hardly re-used at all, a trend that could jeopardize the emerging green technology sector.

In a study of how 60 “inherently recyclable” metals are collected, processed and re-used, the report by (more…)

Japanese government and industries are likely to invest $6.4 billion in green energy technologies over the next 15 months.

The Japanese government would offer subsidies worth $1.9 billion while the rest of the investment is likely to come from some 142 companies which include Fuji Electric Holding, Toda Kogyo Corp, Toshiba Corp, (more…)

Last week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) formally announced its plan to extend and expand the Green Technology Pilot Program, which provides accelerated examination for patent applications relating to green technologies.

According to the Notice, the program will be extended to December 31, 2011; it was previously scheduled to end December 8, (more…)

(Reuters) – Aid promises from rich nations to help poor countries slow global warming are reaching the $30 billion goal agreed in Copenhagen but analysts say much of that is old funding dressed up as new pledges.

Officially, the promises total $29.8 billion, Reuters calculations show, apparently meeting a pledge of “new and additional” (more…)

The French government recently announced a large investment program for renewables and green chemistry. The investment, totaling 1.35 billion euros ($1.75 billion) will be allocated over the next four years.

Named “ Démonstrateurs énergies renouvelables et chimie verte ” – or renewable energy and green chemistry demonstration – this program plans to allocate 450 million euros in subsidies and 900 million euros in (more…)