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Clean Tech Intellectual Property: Eco-marks, Green Patents, and Green Innovation, by Eric L. Lane. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2011, 260 pp., $185.00, Paperback.
In Clean Tech Intellectual Property: Eco-marks, Green Patents, and Green Innovation, Eric Lane takes the position that clean tech intellectual property (IP), or green IP, differs from IP in other industries because green IP is characterized by several unique features of clean tech. These, according to Lane, include a diversity of technologies, the fact that clean tech borrows from and builds on prior periods of green technology R&D and technologies from other industries such as computers and semiconductors, and clean tech's promise of solutions to mitigate climate change and benefit the environment. Lane proceeds, in an organized and well written manner, to demonstrate how "green IP issues pose unique challenges and raise profound legal and moral questions about the nature of innovation, the best way to facilitate transfer and deployment of clean technologies, and how to protect green consumers." (Page 3).
It is no surprise that Eric Lane was the first to write a comprehensive review of IP and clean technology, which should be of interest to clean tech business owners, IP attorneys, students and teachers, as well as policy makers and professionals in the energy industry. An IP lawyer and registered U.S. patent attorney, Lane is a founding member of his law firm's Climate Change, Renewable Energy & Sustainable Technology (CREST) group and also the founder and author of Green Patent Blog - www.greenpatentblog. com - an award winning website dedicated to the discussion and analysis of IP issues in clean technology and renewable energy. Portions of the book are adapted from some of his previously published articles.
In Chapter 1, "Clean Tech IP is for Real," Lane discusses several definitions of clean technology, or "clean tech," making the point that clean tech includes a diverse range of products, services, and processes, from solar power systems to hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), but is unified by a purpose - "to benefit the environment and mitigate climate change by generating energy through renewable sources, boosting energy efficiency, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions." (Page 2).
The book is divided into four sections. Section 1 (Chapters 2-4) focuses on green patent prosecution, portfolios,...