Green innovation and its legal protection through “Green Patents” is one of the key elements in mitigating the effects of climate change and promoting a green transition of Europe’s industry. This thesis argues that the European patent system currently lacks a common legal Green Patent strategy and therefore seeks to outline a specific legal proposal.
The present thesis identifies the European Union (EU), the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg) and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) as the relevant European legal key players and builds a common language for Green Patents by using and optimizing the Green Patent classification practice at the European Patent Office (EPO). By also considering European and global statistics on Green Patents, a potential for further Green Patent incentives can be identified. This thesis then evaluates several procedural and material legal incentives for Green Patents, taking into account the existing legislation of the relevant stakeholders and comparing them with international legal approaches.
As a result, it suggests inter alia the integration of a Green-Patent fast-track into the existing schemes of the European Patent Office as well as the introduction of Green Supplementary Protection Certificates through an interim EU regulation. Furthermore, the extension of the Green fast-track to the newly established Unitary Patent is proposed and the efficient procedural practice of the UPC is identified as an indirect incentive for Green Patents.