European Inventor Award 2019

To qualify for the European Inventor Award, all entries must satisfy certain formal conditions. Before filling in the entry form, please read the information below. Failure to observe the conditions may result in the candidate's elimination from the competition.

Anyone can submit an entry: whether you work in industry, at a university or research institute or for a professional association, are an individual inventor, or simply have an interest in the work these people do, there are no restrictions. If you are an inventor, you can even put yourself forward.

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 38 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.

The categories of the prize are:

• Industry
• Research
• Non-EPO countries
• SMEs
• Lifetime achievement

POPULAR PRIZE VOTING

The general public is invited to vote for their favourite inventor. An additional prize is awarded to the European Inventor Award finalist who receives the most votes on the EPO website and social media in the run-up to ceremony.

The EPO officially announces the names of the fifteen finalists to the public in April. The opening of the public voting in the Popular Prize category is also announced.

The winners in the five categories and the Popular Prize are announced at the Award ceremony in June.

Deadline for submissions: 28 September 2018.

EPO staff rigorously evaluates the proposals to ensure they fulfil all legal requirements and represent significant inventions. A shortlist of 40-50 candidates is submitted to an independent jury, including detailed reports on the technical, societal and economic merits of the inventions and biographical information on each candidate.