(62b) IP Strategy Options for Emerging Technologies in the Low-Carbon Energy Space

For technology-based companies patents are a particularly important part of their IP asset base. Private and Public Investment in Low-Carbon Energy Technology continues to grow at a rapid pace as new consortiums, research alliances, venture capital, private equity and technology innovation start-ups are established. Recently the role of Intellectual Property (IP) in Low-Carbon Solutions, commercialization has gained an unusual prominence in the media. Investments by petrochemical companies in novel biofuel processes (backed by strong patent portfolios) have attracted many headlines. Public policy debates in the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Change summit also saw the role of patents take front stage. But beyond the headlines, how important is IP in the low-carbon energy future? And on a practical level: how can entrepreneurs and company executives maximise the benefit from their patent portfolios and use it to support business objectives? What are the proven IP strategies that can be adopted from other industries to support innovation in the low-carbon energy space?

We provide some insights from patent landscaping and interviews with key industry stakeholders conducted in 2008-9 in clean technology, as well as some suggested implications for Corporate and startup R&D and IP strategies. We begin by overviewing some of the IP strategy challenges already faced by technology companies in the low-carbon energy space: including in solar Photovoltaic, biomass, biofuels and carbon capture and storage (CCS). Many of these issues are ?imported' from other industries. For instance in the biofuels space past controversy around standards in fuel production may make the application of future standards for biofuels more difficult to implement; while a migration of litigation trends from the biotech into the biofuels space may also make the scaling up of biofuels production more difficult. We therefore turn next to examples of different strategies pursued by individual companies and industries as a whole around how patents are used in the industry's value chain. We examine how technology standards bodies have worked in telecoms and utility metering; and cross-licensing agreements in semi-conductors. We conclude by providing some early examples of emerging standards in the low-carbon energy space, and discuss potential scenarios in areas of interest to the AICHE community.