Let's get started and let's start our
discovery journey
and let me welcome very heartedly our
President of the European Patent Office,
António Campinos. It's fascinating
because it's a game changer.
It changes the rules of the game. It
basically transforms
consumers into producers. Additive
manufacturing will provide a great
opportunity to
to participate in an emerging new
economic model with decentralized
production and distribution. I see
a huge potential in this technology to
foster sustainability,
both environmental and social
sustainability.
We have so to say the tools of law to
make sure that we can take the ethical
aspects
and the societal aspects into
consideration. Is the IP system
fit for purpose as it stands? That's a
question
that the European Commissioners asked
and answered in a report in February.
Europe is leading.
So we have more or less, we represent,
Europe, 47 procent
of the total of applications and
remaining being
divided in the U.S., Japan and the trend
in terms of patents filed is
accelerating as I speak. We are only
seeing the beginning
of innovation in the sectors and that
there is much more to come
in the coming years. What are the main
criteria you look at for investing?
It's the team that generates a company
and
applies the tools and the knowledge that
they have gained
and hopefully, that's the second
criterion, it's backed by
solid IP. We absolutely need
standardization
of IP all over the world. They are global
and we need to help them scale up and
that's why we liaise with the other offices worldwide to
harmonize.
We are still only in the first
hour of the first day of 3D
manufacturing. We designed the Charlotte
Valve. These yellow pieces that attach it on
the top of the mask
can convert a traditional snorkel mask
into a respiratory one. Through here pass oxygen and this is the
outlet and with the filter
you can use it on a COVID patient. It
turns out everybody has the same story. They have an idea. They have an
invention. They have to
sacrifice themselves to get that idea
implemented in the world. The IP system
is
coping well with additive
manufacturing. This is clearly fit for purpose.
However some adaptations and
alignment may be required in the future.
The debate will continue I'm sure.
