Intellectual properties are creations of the mind. These are protected through intellectual property rights. Common intellectual proprety rights are copyright, patents, design rights and trademarks. Through these rights it is possible for creators to enjoy, for a limited time, an exclusive right to sell and distribute their intellectual property in the jurisdiction where it is protected.
In the case of patents, these rights are awarded to an invention that is new and entails an inventive step under one condition—that information on how to carry out the invention is made public. This helps other inventors to keep up with what inventions have already been made. As the patent system has been around since the 19th century in many countries, the number of inventions has become so vast that it is difficult to get a good overview and it is often necessary to seek help from patent information specialists to get a satisfactory result.
Useful information
To demonstrate the usefulness of the information from patent databases, and create a better overview of available cleantech, we started the Sea of Inventions project. The patent information on this website is taken from all major patent database and compiled in a way that makes it easier to search for solutions to a specific problem. The information can be used for development purposes but it is important to remember that some of the patents found in the Sea of Inventions database are in force and owned by someone else (for more details on the this, please look under Free to use?).
Applications in the Baltic Sea
The environmental problems in the Baltic Sea are a big challenge for the surrounding countries, but the region is also very innovative. The Nordic countries have traditionally worked together on important issues and after the entry of Poland and the Baltic countries into the European Union, the Baltic Sea Region is quickly turning into a place where innovation is a central part in the economy and future growth potential. To facilitate and encourage innovation we want to provide cleantech and environmental actors around the Baltic Sea with useful information. We also encourage them to protect their inventions through patents or other suitable intellectual property rights. Contact information for national intellectual property offices can be found on the left-hand meny on this page.