WIPO Green Platform Expanding With Experts Database, Seeks Experts

By Catherine Saez

The World Intellectual Property Organization internet platform WIPO GREEN is expanding by building a database of experts meant to help technology seekers find green technology specialists to provide their service and expertise.

WIPO GREEN, “The Marketplace for Sustainable Technology,” is an internet platform established in 2013. According to WIPO, “it brings together a wide range of players in the green technology innovation value chain, and connects owners of new technologies with individuals or companies who might be looking to commercialize, license or otherwise distribute a green technology.”

The platform operates through a network of over 70 partners, according to Anatole Krattiger, director of the WIPO Global Challenges Division. The most recent additions include: King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A. CARE) (Saudi Arabia), Queensland University of Technology (Australia), and the Groundup Project (Switzerland), he told Intellectual Property Watch.

Some 2400 technologies are currently available through WIPO GREEN, he said, adding that qualified users from developing countries can benefit from pro bono services. Public Interest Intellectual Property Advisors (PIIPA) has pledged 300 hours of pro bono services for selected WIPO GREEN users from developing country SMEs and public sector institutes, according to WIPO GREEN’s website. Krattiger said users from Botswana and South Africa have used the services.

The platform is currently building a WIPO GREEN Experts database. Experts can register in fields such as intellectual property law, business, engineering, finance and assurances, and advisory services, he said.

The database will be launched later in 2017, when enough content has been reached, he said, adding there is no registration cost. Experts can register on this page.

WIPO GREEN also developed a Licensing Checklist, which has been designed “for those involved in negotiating technology transfer licensing agreements,” according to the website.

The Licensing Checklist “provides a checklist of key issues which should be considered when negotiating and concluding such contracts,” it explains.