EU and EPO jurys nominate software patentee for "Inventor of the Year" award

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Quotes

The list the jury has drawn up covers inventions from all the fields of technology in which the EPO granted European patents between 1991 and 2000. It granted over 380 000 patents in that period, so in making their choice the jurors drew on the technical expertise of the Office's 3 500 patent examiners. Prizes are to be awarded in six categories, and three candidates have been nominated for each of them.

As President Pompidou puts it: "The panel's selection is clear evidence that major R&D achievements, especially in marketable high-tech fields, are nowadays primarily the result of teamwork and co‑operation. Obtaining patent protection for this research is a key to successful product marketing."

Lifetime achievement nominations:

Karlheinz Brandenburg (Ilmenau, Germany) revolutionised the music world by inventing the MP3 format, now the standard for music storage. There are 200 million people with MP3 software on their computers, and 50 million MP3 players were sold last year alone.

background

http://wiki.ffii.org/Swpatmp3En

Joint Press Release 2006-07-06

EPO PR: Eleven-nation line-up for European Inventor of the Year awards

EU Commission PR: Eleven-nation line-up for European Inventor of the Year awards