Leading global IP consultancy and law firm Rouse has announced the creation of the world’s first tool for calculating the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) incurred in protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights (IPRs).
Officially unveiled at the Climate Change and IP Summit in the French National Assembly, the calculator allows users anywhere in the world to calculate GHG emissions over the whole life cycle of patents, designs, trade marks, copyrights, geographical indications, plant varieties and traditional knowledge.
Providing results in tonnes of CO2, the calculator factors in a wide range of emission parameters for each IPR and weights the results against country-specific data. For each of these countries, the emission factor is a national average which takes into account the energy specificities of each region.
The potential benefits to users of the platform are numerous. Primarily, the calculator will facilitate a far greater degree of transparency and allow users to better identify solutions that meet their obligations to regulatory schemes on climate change and emissions and make informed decisions
Additionally, it can help identify and manage risks around energy supply chains; test and compare IP strategies before implementation; identify ‘hotspots’ and opportunities for energy efficient IP strategies; enhance credentials when answering calls for tenders with CSR requirements; and boost IP owners’ reputation amongst customers, prospects, media and the public.
An open access and ‘light’ version of the calculator will be available on the Rouse website to enable anybody to gauge the carbon footprint of their IP assets (available shortly). A more in-depth version will also be available for clients on a chargeable basis.
Fabrice Mattei, Climate Change & IP Group Head at Rouse, commented:
“For too long the development of carbon-neutral IP activities has been held back by the lack of a simple, accessible tool for calculating their greenhouse gas emissions. our calculator has now addressed this. While it remains an aspiration for carbon-neutral IP protection and enforcement to become standard practice, this innovate new tool represents a significant step forward and will undoubtedly play a key role in achieving this."
