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Tag:

intellectual property

Six Years On, IP Impact on Green Tech Transfer Remains a Mystery

Six Years On, IP Impact on Green Tech Transfer Remains a Mystery

written by Eric Lane

It’s been quite a while since I’ve addressed green patents in the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other international efforts to develop climate change policy.

A guest post by Prof. Matthew Rimmer discussed the UNFCCC Doha meeting in December 2012, and I commented on the 2010 Cancun climate change agreement.

Summarizing where we left off, most of the middle-income countries (AKA “developing” countries) together with the least developed countries (collectively,  ”G77 + China”) have taken the position that IP protections act as a barrier to development and transfer of green technologies in and to their domestic markets.

The “rich-world” countries, by contrast, advocate strong intellectual property rights and believe they facilitate green tech development, transfer, and deployment.

What is the reality?  We don’t know.

A 2008 report by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) equivocally concluded that “IP is potentially both an incentive and an obstacle to the transfer of technology.”  The report also noted that “no comprehensive study has been conducted on the impact of IP rights” in green technologies.

Half a decade later, the international community plugs on, and little has changed.

Three Working Groups of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change each generated a report this year that addresses various aspects of climate change.  Working Group II’s report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and Working Group III’s report on Mitigation of Climate Change each addresses IP issues, though the contribution to the debate is small both in volume and significance.

The report of Working Group II skates over familiar ground, stating that in many cases “patents and other intellectual property protection constrain technology transfer” but noting the opposing view that “strong IP protection in receiving countries is facilitating technology transfer from advanced countries…”  The report does say the evidence suggests that middle-income countries are benefiting from exports, foreign direct investment, and technology licensing associated with IP protection.

Working Group III’s report is similar in substance and tone, observing that IP protection can provide incentives for innovation but “also works to slow the diffusion of new technologies, because it raises their cost and potentially limits their availability.”  Elaborating on the favorable evidence on tech transfer to middle-income countries, the report says IP protection “may be necessary to limit the risk for foreign firms that transfer of their technology will lead to imitation and resulting profit erosion.”

But like the ICTSD report from six years ago, the 2014 report of Working Group III still finds insufficient data to conclusively resolve this debate:

In summary, there is inadequate evidence in the literature regarding the impact of IP policy on transfer of GHG-mitigating technologies to draw robust conclusions.

Where is the comprehensive research we need on the true impact of IP rights on green technology development and diffusion?



July 30, 2014 0 comment
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UK Based Sevcon Bets on China EV Market Growth

UK Based Sevcon Bets on China EV Market Growth

written by

I like to talk to little-known (to me at least) companies operating in China’s electric vehicle world to get a broader perspective. In that spirit, when I saw a notice that a U.K.-based company called Sevcon had formed a joint venture with a Chinese supplier named Risenbo to supply motor controllers and other components to China’s electric vehicle makers, I sent a note to Matthew Boyle, Sevcon’s president and CEO, asking if we could chat.  Talking with Boyle opened a window for me to the many layers of the EV industry, and made me think again about how many companies will be disappointed if China doesn’t pull off its grand plan to produce lots of EVs. The opposite could also be true, or course. China may forge ahead and produce many EVs – though mainly for fleets, in my opinion.

Getting in on the ground floor as Sevcon is doing is the way to be positioned to benefit if China does turn into an EV-full country. That’s Matt Boyle’s attitude. “If you are prepared to take a long term view that China is a market that will grow substantially, if you’re not there now you will be too late,” he told me.

Sevcon produces inverters to change DC current into AC current, AC and DC motor controllers, DC/DC converters, and battery chargers for zero-emission vehicles and hybrids. “We try to take as much in electrical components as we can,” says Boyle.

Doing business worldwide, Sevcon has mostly marketed to companies supplying off-road vehicles such as quadracyles, as well as fork lifts and motorcycles.

But Sevcon’s components can also be used in on-road EVs, including fleet vehicles and passenger cars. With the Risenbo joint venture it hopes to capitalize on what many anticipate will be a growing demand in China for electric vehicles in the passenger car, commercial vehicle, and scooter segments. Sevcon’s on-road business has really taken off in the last two years, says Boyle. “We are well known in off-road market; what has become an emerging market for us is on-road,” he told ChinaEV.

As for its partner, I couldn’t find much info on Risenbo Technology Co. Ltd., other than that is Tier 1 Chinese supplier. The 50/50 joint venture will to be known as Sevcon (Hubei) New Energy Technology Co. Ltd. Boyle got to know Risenbo through an industry trade group in the U.K.

Risenbo already supplies components to automotive, bus, and truck manufacturers in China, according to Boyle. The joint venture will market Sevcon products in China targeting on-road applications. And since just about every vehicle producer in China is at least saying it will produce some EVs and the central government is telling local governments to add EVs to fleets, Risenbo could provide Sevcon with an excellent doorway into lucrative markets. Risenbo has mainly served large vehicle makers, says Boyle, but Sevcon’s products are scalable so it is targeting all vehicle segments.

Wisely, given the slowness of Chinese drivers to warm to EVs, Boyle says light commercial vehicles and busses seem to be the best market for its products right now. But, “passenger cars can’t be ruled out,” he says. And the latest EV policy, which ignored hybrids, is also to Sevcon’s advantage. There is no charger on board a hybrid, says Boyle. PHEVs and BEVs do have a charger on board. “If there is a charger on board it will double the revenue for us,” he says.

There are Chinese companies that produce similar products to Sevcon’s, such as Shanghai EDrive Co. Ltd.,  a company I visited and wrote about last October. Boyle admits that “the challenge in China is our selling prices have to be a modicum lower than in the rest of the world” to compete against local competitors. “Our quality and reputation give us somewhat of an advantage,” he says, “and our partner has a good reputation in China.”

Fortunately Sevcon has been doing contract manufacturing in China for export in a Free Trade Zone in Shanghai’s Pudong district for about 11 years. It won’t have to add capacity to serve the anticipated new domestic business, at least initially, says Boyle.

Companies manufacturing in China often worry about intellectual property protection; Sevcon has had IP issues in the past, says Boyle, but they have been small. “We aren’t unique in the world, but there aren’t that many people doing what we do so it is easy to spot what’s going on,” he says. Also, Sevcon’s customers are all large companies who also have something to lose if something goes on, he adds.

It will take a while to know if Sevcon’s China gamble has paid off. Product cycles in his industry are generally 18 months to three years, says Boyle. And what about all this news that China’s economic growth is slowing to perhaps as low as 7% this year and even lower in the future? “China’s GDP growth still means you are adding an economy the size of Singapore every year,” says Boyle.

Article by Alysha Webb, a freelance automotive journalist and founder of ChinaEV Blog.



March 18, 2014 0 comment
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Fossil Free Patent Law

written by Walter Wang

Patent law has a dirty history. A legal mechanism refined in the industrial revolution, patent law has sought to encourage manufacturing and industry – the ‘Progress of Science and the Useful Arts’. Patent law has provided incentives for research and development for a wide range of polluting technologies, such as oil, coal, gas.

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January 27, 2014 1 comment
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WIPO GREEN Launches Interactive Marketplace for Green Technologies

written by Walter Wang

A previous post, written by guest blogger Tim Stirrup, discussed the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) WIPO GREEN platform, an initiative that recently launched after operating for a while in pilot and test mode.

WIPO GREEN helps to match green technology innovators with commercialization partners by

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December 17, 2013 0 comment
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Electrode Coating IP Supports Electrovaya Battery Innovation

written by Walter Wang

A previous post discussed advanced battery maker Electrovaya’s lithium ion polymer technology, which the company says provides faster, more efficient transport of lithium, and therefore greater energy density.

Several years ago, Electrovaya partnered with Tata

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May 13, 2013 0 comment
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Can the WIPO Green Matchmaker Make You a Match?

written by Walter Wang

The latest PCT Newsletter published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is promoting the WIPO Green platform as a way to match GreenTech innovators with commercialization partners.

The initiative from WIPO is a welcome move towards

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April 26, 2013 0 comment
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Latvian Green Tech Fast Track Grants Patents in “About an Hour”

written by Walter Wang

The Latvian Patent Office (LPO) announced today the launch of an accelerated examination program for green technology patent applications which would grant patents in “about an hour.”

Apparently, the astonishing turnaround time is possible because of the chronically underutilized

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April 3, 2013 2 comments
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Groundbreaking Research Identifies IP Arms Race in Wind

written by Walter Wang

A new research report published at EWEA 2013 by consultancy Totaro & Associates has catalogued over 27,500 global patent filings related to horizontal-axis, utility-scale wind turbine technology. Totaro & Associates CEO and Principal, Philip Totaro says that, “We estimate there are ~45,000 to 50,000 global filings in total, and we are continuing our research to catalogue and

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February 8, 2013 0 comment
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IP Checkups’ Investigation of Intellectual Ventures

written by Walter Wang

Last October, Popular Mechanics reported that non-practicing entities (NPEs) may have “bled companies for half a trillion dollars” between 1990 and 2010. Sometimes called “patent trolls” by their detractors, NPEs are generally defined as companies that obtain most of their revenue from the licensing and/or enforcement of their intellectual property.

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November 1, 2012 1 comment
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China Becomes Second BRIC to Embrace Green Patents as SIPO Launches Fast Track

written by Walter Wang

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) of China recently enacted a prioritized examination program for invention patent applications directed to a number of technology areas, including several categories of green technologies (see the translated program administrative measures here).

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August 20, 2012 0 comment
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Black Cloud Over Sinovel Blows into Brazil

written by Walter Wang

In a previous post, I discussed some of the out of court business damage suffered by Sinovel as a result of the IP suits filed by American Superconductor (AMSC) against the Chinese wind turbine maker in China.

That post reported the news that Mainstream Renewable Power ditched Sinovel and was looking for

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August 15, 2012 0 comment
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Does KIPO’s Green Patent Fast Track Violates International Treaties?

written by Walter Wang

As readers of this blog know, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) offers a “super speed” fast track program for patent applications directed to green technology inventions.

However, to qualify for this program the invention must have received funding or a green certification

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May 4, 2012 0 comment
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Brazil is the First BRIC to Fall From the Anti-Green Patent Wall

written by Walter Wang

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

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April 27, 2012 0 comment
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Chinese Wind Patent Case May End Up in Nation’s Highest Court

written by Walter Wang

In previous posts (here and here), I discussed the IP litigation in China between American Superconductor (AMSC) and Chinese wind energy system maker Sinovel.

The of heart of the dispute is AMSC’s allegations that Sinovel misappropriated its proprietary software code for controlling wind turbines and power converters.

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April 24, 2012 1 comment
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