Call for Nominations for European Inventor Award 2024

It showcases inspiring ideas and underlines the vital role inventors play in building a smarter, more sustainable world. You can also play a role in one of Europe’s most prestigious innovation prizes by nominating your favourite inventor.

The road to the Award

• Once EPO has received proposals from the public, the staff, patent offices worldwide, or even inventors themselves, the journey begins. First, an EPO panel evaluates the proposals to ensure they meet all formal requirements and represent breakthrough technologies.
• EPO panels drafts a shortlist of some 50 candidates, which is submitted to an independent jury. During a lively meeting, the jury evaluates the list and after several voting and discussion rounds, they select the finalists and winners.
• EPO reveals the names of these outstanding inventors six week prior to Award ceremony and invites the public to vote for their favourite in the Popular Prize.
• At the Award ceremony in Valencia on 4 July, EPO will announce the winners in their five categories, the Popular Prize and the Young Inventors Prize.

Categories and Prizes

At each European Inventor Award ceremony, they celebrate the finalists and winners in several categories and prizes.

• Categories
  • EPO introduced the categories below in the Award’s earliest years. A granted European patent and commercialisation in Europe are among the prerequisites to be eligible for one of the traditional categories.
• Industry
  • This Award recognises inventors of commercially successful technologies patented by large European companies. Generally, these companies employ more than 250 people and generate an annual turnover exceeding EUR 50 million.
• Research
  • This category celebrates inventors working at universities, research institutions or their spin-offs. Inventions in this category will often have led to major technological progress and enhanced the reputation of the inventor’s institution.
• Non-EPO Countries
  • This category is open to all inventors from outside the EPO’s member states, regardless of the size or turnover of the company applying their patented invention. However, the invention or related products must be available in Europe.
• SMEs
  • This Award honours the people behind inventions at small and medium-sized enterprises. These are companies which had fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover of less than EUR 50 million when the patent was granted. Ideally, the invention will have been a commercial success and helped the SME to expand its business.
• Lifetime Achievement
  • This category honours the long-term contribution of an individual European inventor whose dedication and tireless efforts – and patented landmark inventions – have had a major impact on their technical field and society.
• Prizes
  • The prizes below enable broader participation in the Award by giving the public a voice and celebrating innovation outside the European patent system.
• Popular Prize
  • The Popular prize is the only prize in which the winner is decided by a public vote. Voting commences when the finalists are announced and closes during the Award ceremony.
• Young Inventors Prize
  • The newest prize recognises initiatives developed by young inventors (aged 30 and under). Open to innovators worldwide, the Young Inventors Prize celebrates solution that work towards the United Nations Sustainable development goals. A granted European patent is not a prerequisite and they reward the winner with EUR 20,000.  The second and third placed finalists receive EUR 10,000 and EUR 5,000 respectively.

Eligibility Rules and Conditions

The section below provides all the information you need to submit a proposal in the traditional categories (Industry, Research, SMEs, Non-EPO countries, and Lifetime achievement) as well as the Young inventors prize. Remember to check your proposal carefully – if the details are incorrect, incomplete or do not meet the conditions below, your candidate may be eliminated from the competition.

Criteria for Industry, Research, SMEs, Non-EPO Countries, and Lifetime Achievement

• An inventor must be granted at least one European patent for an invention by the European Patent Office.
• The patent must be maintained in force in at least one EPO member state (except for the Lifetime achievement category).
• The patent should show a high degree of inventiveness, display a recognisable benefit to society or the environment and demonstrate proven or potential economic success in Europe.
• Inventors nominated for the Industry, Research, SMEs and Lifetime Achievement categories must be citizens of one of the EPO’s member states. Inventors from outside the EPO’s member states can only be nominated for the Non-EPO Countries category.
• Inventions from all fields of technology for which a European patent can be granted can be nominated for the European Inventor Award.

Not Eligible

• The patent has not yet been granted by the EPO
• The relevant patent is subject to pending opposition or appeal proceedings
• The relevant patent is within a nine-month notice of opposition period
• The patent has been revoked
• The patent has lapsed or expired in all EPO member states
• The inventor has already been a finalist or winner in a previous European Inventor Award competition (see the list of past finalists and winners).

Criteria for Young Inventors Prize

• The Young Inventors Prize is open to any public/published initiative, by an individual or a group of individuals worldwide with a maximum age of 30 years at the time of the Award ceremony. The initiative should clearly demonstrate how it intends to solve a problem within the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework by using a solution from any field of technology.
• Candidates may be of any nationality – this prize is not limited to individuals with EPO Member State nationality.
• Only public/published initiatives will be considered as this avoids the risk of unwillingly disclosing information that may impact future patent applications.
• Each nomination must be accompanied by supporting information. Examples of supporting documents include granted patents or utility models, published scientific papers, business plans, videos or documentaries, or web articles. Please note that not all supporting documentation carries the same weight. For example, a granted patent is a clear statement of originality and potential technological impact, whereas ideas disclosed on a blog may not necessarily be so. The jury will use the hierarchy below when assessing proposals.
• A proposed candidate for the Young Inventors Prize may also be nominated for the categories above if they fulfil the respective requirements. However, a nominee cannot be selected as a finalist in both.

For more information, visit EPO.