27 April 2009: The European Patent Office (EPO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) have announced that they will undertake a joint project to examine the role of patents in the development and transfer of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs), in particular in the field of energy generation.

This initiative, which was launched with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the three organizations, will produce several studies and will seek to provide input into ongoing discussions on technology transfer in the context of the UNFCCC, with the goal of offering recommendations for the climate change talks in December 2009 in Copenhagen. [EPO press release]