Patenting Mother Nature: Thomson Reuters World IP Today Report Reveals Wind Technology Leading Alternative Energy Field

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Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:00am EDT 

Patenting Mother Nature: Thomson Reuters World IP Today Report Reveals Wind
Technology Leading Alternative Energy Field
Intellectual property analysis tracks patenting activity in wind, solar and
marine power globally; smaller, niche companies are the most active

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The IP Solutions business of Thomson
Reuters, Legal, announced today the release of its most recent World IP Today
research report: Alternative Energy Powers Up. This comprehensive patent study
shows that wind technology has taken precedence in the alternative energy
space recently, particularly spurred by high invention activity in Japan, but
that solar power has stronger recent activity in China, and continues to have
high R&D investment. The report also reveals that small companies are
extremely active innovators and that patent protection is being sought heavily
in China, Japan and the United States.

The study, which analyzes global patent activity from January 1998 through
March 2009, finds that although inventive activity in alternative power has
increased over the last several years, single leading players are not the
pattern. While many companies and regions of the world are amassing large
amounts of alternative energy patents, the landscape is currently populated by
smaller companies carving out niches.

"Given the current global focus and economic investment of billions of dollars
in finding alternative energy sources, we decided to analyze patent activity
to uncover key trends and issues," said Susan Cullen, IP consulting services
director, Thomson Reuters IP Solutions, and author of the report. "Our
research indicates there is a real opportunity for niche players in this field
to collaborate and partner with larger companies that have deeper resources.
In turn, the larger companies benefit by accessing novel technology that will
drive down cost. The future is bright for all the companies able to seize the
opportunity before them."

Key findings from the study include:

    --  Small Companies Lead in Alternative Energy Space: Small commercial
        entities provide the lion's share of the inventions in alternative
        energy when compared with large companies and academic institutions.


    --  Wind Power Growing Fastest: Approximately 50 percent of alternative
        energy patents granted between 2006 and March 2009 were focused on
wind
        power. Japan is the leading country for wind power technologies; wind
        research currently exceeds solar research there.


    --  Most Alternative Energy Patents Filed in Japan, U.S. and China:
        Regardless of where the inventions originate, patent protection is
being
        sought most frequently in China, Japan and the United States. A
        disproportionately high number of patents are also being filed in
        Australia. The high volume of patent filings in these geographies
        indicates they could be target markets for alternative energy
        commercialization.


The report analyzes data compiled from the Thomson Reuters Derwent World
Patents Index (DWPI) database and tracks unique inventions in published
applications and granted patents in the areas of wind, solar and marine.

To view the full report, visit
http://ip.thomsonreuters.com/media/pdfs/altenergy.pdf.

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    CONTACTS

    John Roderick                Laura Gaze
    Principal                    Senior Marketing Manager
    J. Roderick Inc.             IP Solutions
    +1.631.656.9736              +1.203.868.3340
    john@jroderick.com           laura.gaze@thomsonreuters.com


SOURCE  Thomson Reuters

John Roderick, Principal, J. Roderick Inc., +1-631-656-9736,
john@jroderick.com, or Laura Gaze, Senior Marketing Manager, IP Solutions,
+1-203-868-3340, laura.gaze@thomsonreuters.com
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