New Zealand Celsias

Many overseas governments are rewarding innovation in clean, green technologies through the patent system. But is New Zealand keeping up?

Climate change drives technological innovation

The extent of humankind’s likely influence on our planet’s future climate is still the subject of debate, but the world’s governments have decided that action needs to be taken. A variety of measures to fight global warming have been introduced and many more are planned. These range from campaigns designed to increase public awareness of the issues to political frameworks like the Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol essentially places constraints on the industrial activities of nations in terms of their impact on the environment. For example, targets are set for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. To conform to these agreements while still satisfying the economic needs of the population (such as energy and food requirements), new methods and technologies are required.

Ester Boserup, a Danish economist, argued in the 1960s that population pressures determined agricultural methods. She believed increased demand for food would lead to advances in production. Essentially, necessity is the mother of invention. Analogously, it seems technological innovations have responded to the pressures of constraints placed on industry as a result of the threat of climate change. A recent study conducted by the European Patent Office, United Nations Environment Programme and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development has shown that innovation in the clean energy sector has significantly increased in the last 20 years.

Trends in clean technologies

Patents serve as a convenient guide to assess technological trends. For example, since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997, the number of patent applications filed for inventions in certain clean energy technologies (CETs) has increased annually by 20 per cent. Solar photovoltaics have seen the most growth in terms of patent filings for CETs, with wind energy, carbon capture and biofuel technologies also having shown much activity. In contrast, the rate of patenting in fossil fuel technologies has remained generally constant, even slightly decreasing since 2001.

Japan leads the way in terms of patenting activity for CETs with 4,672 accepted patents filed in multiple countries in this area between 1988 and 2007. The US and Germany follow with around 2,500 patents each, followed by Korea, France and the UK. In comparison, the study states that New Zealand has just 13 accepted CET patents in this date range.

Research by the author indicates that around 500 CET patent applications were filed in New Zealand in the same period, of which around 200 were granted as New Zealand patents. The difference between these figures and the figure in the study (which relates to accepted patents filed in multiple countries) may indicate that much of the CET developed in New Zealand is not being commercialised overseas.

Fast-track patenting for clean technologies

Another measure taken by governments in the fight against global warming is to assist innovation in the clean energy sector through changes in practice at respective patent offices. In some countries, patent applications for CET inventions are given the option of prioritisation, cutting down the long waiting times endured by many applications. The UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, China and Korea all have such programmes in place.

By fast-tracking CET applications, investment in CETs is encouraged and commercialisation will be advanced, thus bringing forward their environmental benefits. Also, the commercial gains of the innovators of CETs may be realised sooner. This reward of innovation, which in turn encourages further innovation, is one of the important benefits of the patent system as a whole.

New Zealand is generally regarded as an environmentally friendly country and its clean, green image is cultivated carefully for the benefit of the tourism industry. However, in terms of technological innovation in the clean energy sector, we are lagging behind many other countries, even taking into account population differences.

So what has to change?

New Zealand has low official fees and rapid examination for New Zealand patent applicants but examination times for applications from foreign applicants can be quite slow, and this presents an opportunity to expedite the application process for CETs to encourage foreign investment in this sector of New Zealand industry.

In addition, it has been suggested that application fees might be increased when the Patents Bill is enacted. Under the Bill, patent applications will be examined for inventive step, which will increase the time taken to examine each application. If the increase is likely to be signficant, this presents another opportunity to offer reduced fees for applications relating to CET inventions.

However, New Zealand should not be content with belatedly following the example of other countries less known for their environmental friendliness. If we are serious about being seen as a leader in green matters, we should be leading the way with new initiatives.

For example, while some CETs such as biofuels are currently provided with government tax incentives, more can be done to financially assist innovation in CETs. The Ministry of Science and Innovation (MSI) provide grants to assist technological developments. In terms of intellectual property protection, MSI grants are only available for limited services, and this does not extend to obtaining protection for innovations in the form of patents. Because of the importance of securing patent protection to the successful commercialisation of new technologies, this policy should be re-assessed, particularly for funding the protection of clean technology inventions.

By actively promoting the development and commercialisation of CETs and by providing suitable incentives, New Zealand could become a haven for many green businesses to operate in. Our country has abundant natural resources and a relatively low population placing demand on those resources, which means we should be well placed to lead the way in innovation to satisfy energy and food requirements in an environmentally friendly way. There would be benefits to many aspects of the country’s economy, including paying more than “me too” service to the “100% Pure” tourism brand.