Eco-Patents at the Crossroads Between Technological Neutrality and Environmental Sensitivity

In a world where global warming and the consequent melting of glaciers seem to have become an irreversible trend, the growing demand for energy and natural resources can be met only if businesses actively foster the green conversion of their strategies and activities. Although primarily devoted to the promotion of technological innovation as such, patent law could play a crucial role in the fight against climate change by favoring those intangibles that are compatible with the environmental imperative. The aim of this paper is to assess the desirability of a patent system that is sensitive and permeable to the need for environmental neutrality as against a system that is neutral to technological innovation. The assessment of this tension is made by focusing on two relevant issues arising in the registration phase: (i) the opportunity to introduce an accelerated procedure for green patents both at the national and at the European level; (ii) the possibility of denying the patentability of highly polluting inventions based on ordre public considerations as well as on other provisions, like Art. 81-quinquies of the Italian Intellectual Property Code.