The European Inventor Award (formerly European Inventor of the Year Award, renamed in 2010), are presented annually by the European Patent Office, sometimes supported by the respective Presidency of the Council of the European Union and by the European Commission, to inventors who have made a significant contribution to innovation, economy and society, predominantly in Europe. [1] [2] Inventions from all technological fields are considered for this award. The winners in each category are presented with an award shaped like a sail. [1] [2] There is no cash prize associated with the award, however there is a cash prize for all 3 of the Young Inventors Prize finalists. [3]
The European Inventor Award is presented in the following five categories and two prizes:
Each year the European Patent Office calls on its patent examiners, on examiners at the patent offices in the EPO's member states and on public at large to propose inventions for the award that were patented at the European Patent Office and have made a significant contribution towards innovation, economy and society in Europe.
A short list of nominees is then drawn up from the proposals and submitted to an international jury. The independent jury selects three inventors in each category for the final round, and eventually chooses the winners.
The first European Inventor of the Year awards ceremony took place at the AutoWorld Museum in Brussels, Belgium on 3 May 2006. Prizes were presented in six categories.
The 2006 winners were:
The second European Inventor of the Year awards ceremony took place at the International Congress Center in Munich, Germany on 18 April 2007. Prizes were presented to inventors - individuals and teams - in five categories.
The 2007 winners were:
The third European Inventor of the Year awards ceremony took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia on 6 May 2008, marking Slovenia's presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2008. Prizes were presented to inventors - individuals and teams - in five categories.
The 2008 winners were:
The European Inventor of the Year awards ceremony took place at Prague Castle, in Prague, Czech Republic on 28 April 2009.
The 2009 winners were:
Renamed the European Inventor Award, the 2010 awards ceremony took place in Madrid, Spain on 28 April 2010. The ceremony at the Eurostars Madrid Tower Hotel was attended by Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias.
The 2010 winners were: [23]
The 2011 award ceremony took place at the historic Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest, Hungary.
The 2011 winners were: [25]
The 2012 award ceremony was held in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Playhouse in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
The 2012 winners were: [26]
The 2013 award ceremony was held in Amsterdam at Beurs van Berlage in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.
The 2013 winners were: [27]
For the first time, the public was invited to vote to select the winner of a Popular Prize from among the 15 finalists. [28] The winner in this category is José Luis López Gómez (Spain) from Patentes Talgo, whose invention to use a unique 'independent guided' wheel design rather than a standard axle on high-speed passenger trains makes those trains some of the most comfortable and safe in the industry.
The 2014 award ceremony was held in Berlin at Deutsche Telekom's Berlin Representative Office (Former Kaiserliches Telegrafenamt) on 17 June.
The 2014 winners were:
The 2015 award ceremony was held in Paris at Palais Brongniart (La Bourse) on 11 June. [30] [31] The 2015 winners were: [32] [33]
The 2016 award ceremony was held in Lisbon on 9 June. The 2016 winners were:
The 2017 award ceremony was held in Venice on 15 June. The 2017 winners were:
The 2018 award ceremony was held in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Paris, on 7 June. The 2018 winners were:
The 2019 award ceremony was held in Vienna, Austria, on 20 June. The 2019 winners were:
The 2020 award was deferred to the following year due to the pandemic. [47]
The 2021 award ceremony was held digitally on 17 June. The 2021 winners were:
The 2022 award ceremony was held digitally on 21 June. The 2022 winners were: [48]
The 2023 award ceremony was held in Valencia, Spain. [49] [50] The 2023 winners were:
For the 2006 awards, the jury was:
The jury in 2007–2008 was:
The jury in 2009–2010 was:
The jury in 2011 was:
The jury in 2012 was:
The 2013 jury was:
The 2014 jury was:
The 2015 jury was:
The 2016 jury was:
The 2017 jury was:
The 2019 jury was: [56]
The 2021 jury was: [56]
The 2022 jury was: [56]
Ernő Rubik is a Hungarian inventor who created the Rubik's Cube (1974), Rubik's Magic, Rubik's Magic: Master Edition, and Rubik's Snake.
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