Assessing IP sustainability with the Green Patent Indicator

How the GPI works

While the specific functionality of the GPI varies depending on the Dennemeyer product in which you are using it, the tool is fundamentally a monitoring system. It reviews your IP portfolio data to identify in-force patents that possess sustainability aspects or positively contribute to the natural world. Per the criteria of the International Patent Classification (IPC) system, there are 35 patent classes that are considered sustainable. When the GPI detects any patents within your portfolio that can be categorized under at least one of these classes, it marks them as green by applying an easily identifiable label.

If you are using the GPI within Dennemeyer's Portfolio Management App or DIAMS iQ IP management software, you can view all designated patents in a readily accessible list. DIAMS iQ also allows you to review green IP via a dashboard visualization, illustrating the percentage of your overall patent portfolio that can be considered ecologically beneficial.

With Octimine, our AI-powered patent search and analysis engine, you can use the GPI as a prior art search filter. Narrow down results to granted patents that meet the IPC's environmental standards to ensure your sustainable innovation is guided to have the highest chances of success and the greatest effect. Most recently, we incorporated the GPI into our IP Lounge customer portal for users of Dennemeyer's Patent Renewals services.

The value potential of a GPI analysis

Effective use of the GPI can profit your organization across a number of critical business areas.

Fulfilling sustainability goals

Companies across virtually all industries have set themselves sustainability benchmarks, and many make these goals public. Identifying green patents in your portfolio and ensuring they are put into production can help you reach your ecological and ESG objectives, as well as make sure your organization's footprint is headed in the right direction. Additionally, if your eco-friendly priorities are a matter of public record, you can demonstrate that your organization keeps good on its word.

Improving IP management

Knowing which of your patents are green and which are not can help your organization determine its IP priorities more capably. For example, if you discover unutilized patents that, upon inspection, show significant market potential, these could be marked for renewal even if they are not yet ready for production. Their long-term sales and sustainability value would be strengths to consider in making such decisions.

Alternatively, imagine you hold a patent for a product in your catalog that has become prohibitively expensive to manufacture. Or perhaps you have a new invention that has generated enthusiasm in the R&D department but seems unfeasible for mass production. If these patents are flagged as green by the GPI, you can point to this information to attract a licensee that will be able to use them more effectively. In so doing, you set your organization up to earn licensing royalties, eliminate (projected) production costs, forge new business relationships and aid the environment all at once.

Uncovering marketing and branding opportunities

Numerous studies have shown that consumers across demographics care a great deal about buying sustainable products and patronizing responsible manufacturers. A February 2023 report from McKinsey and NielsenIQ presented compelling evidence for this, particularly emphasizing that sustainability in product marketing has a measurable impact on sales growth.

Using the GPI to find green patents for products you currently or plan to offer can present you with a clear marketing objective: To feature these innovations prominently in your publicity campaigns. In the longer term, this can set the stage for burnishing your brand identity through a focus on greenness.

Meeting compliance requirements

Fulfilling the expectations of internal sustainability benchmarks is hugely important, especially if these ambitions are shared publicly or constitute a part of a brand image. But even this motivation is not as vital as complying with legal requirements related to ESG matters.

This is a particularly pressing issue for the many companies in EU member states, who must start following the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in 2024. The first reports will be due the following year, and the GPI can make it much easier for organizations to provide quantifiable proof that they are abiding by the new regulations in good faith.

The CSRD is more wide-ranging than the ESG standards in numerous countries and jurisdictions, but it would simply be unwise to assume other governments will not implement similar rules. When you become familiar with operating the GPI and integrate it into the everyday work of IP management, you are prepared in advance for both changing legislation and your own expansion into new markets.

Dennemeyer: your partner for sustainable IP management

At Dennemeyer, we count our clients' goals among our highest priorities, and the GPI is just one way we help them pursue — and protect — their sustainable innovations. We have incorporated environmental factors into the IP strategies developed by Dennemeyer Consulting and legal advice from our attorneys at Dennemeyer & Associates.

As a full-service global leader in the IP industry, we are your go-to partner for compliance, patent protection, strategy, IP management and more. Get in touch with us today to find out how green patent analytics can help sustain your business while your business helps support the planet.