Poll results: Inventor of the Year

A few weeks ago, the IPKat asked whether the EPO ought to be organising and funding the European Inventor of the Year award. His concerns were twofold: the resources that are devoted to this event, and the fundamental question of whether the EPO ought to be seen to be ranking different inventions in terms of their merits.

Now that the awards have been presented, the IPKat wishes to congratulate the winners and assure them that the Kats' feelings about the Award are in no way to be taken as casting aspersions on their own efforts and in the merits of their inventions. A list of the award winners and the work they have done is to be found here.

The IPKat ran a sidebar poll in conjunction with the above post to see how readers feel about this event, and the results are now in. The IPKat and Merpel are grateful to the 675 readers who took time to vote.

9% of respondents (64 votes) were fully supportive:

“It’s a great initiative and should be given every support.”

12% (85 votes) agreed with:

“It’s a good idea but maybe it’s not such a good idea that the EPO should be running it.”

14% (100 votes) took the middle ground with:

“It’s neither good nor bad, but it’s basically irrelevant to the EPO’s role.”

19% (130 votes) were unsupportive, agreeing with:

“It’s an unproductive waste of time and should not be run at all.”

43% (296 votes) were also unsupportive of the EPO involvement:

“It lies outside the powers and duties of the EPO.”

The IPKat wonders whether the EPO should now review its involvement with and funding of this event, in the light of these concerns which appear to be shared by much of the IP community (or of this blog’s readership, at least)?