European Inventor Awards 2026 - The Finalists (1)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

On July 2nd, 2026, the prestigious European Inventor Awards will be conferred upon inventors competing in one of four categories: Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),  Research, and Non-members of the European Patent Organization. This year, the ceremony will take place in Berlin, Germany.

Below, the list of the 12 finalists and their competing inventions, in each of the four categories.

Industry
• Giuseppe Crippa†, Roberto Crippa, Stefano Felici, Riccardo Vettori, Raffaele Vallauri, Flavio Maggioni and team (Italy).
Invention: Probe card advancements for testing microchips.
Sample patents
EP2984492B1 - Testing head of electronic devices.

EP3794357B1 - High-performance probe card in high-frequency.
EP3707519B1 - Contact probe for a testing head for testing high-frequency devices.

• Evangelos Eleftheriou and team (Switzerland/Greece).
Invention:  Improvements to the stability and reliability of digital data storage.
Sample patents
EP2277173B1 - Error correction coding of longitudinal position information.
EP2513798B1 - Reducing access contention in flash-based memory systems.
EP2260491B1 - Error correction capability for longitudinal position data in a tape storage system.

 
• Angeliki Triantafyllou (Greece/Sweden)
Invention: Improved enzymatic process to prepare tasty oat drinks with a creamy mouthfeel, for the lactose-intolerant and as an alternative to the high energy footprint of dairy milk production.
Sample patent

EP2953482B1 – Liquid oat base. 

Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• Jan Čmelík and team (Czech Republic). 
Invention: Electrospinning of nanofibers to scale the reliable manufacture of nanofibers used for various industrial and medical applications. 
Sample patents
EP2291555B1 - Method and device for spinning of polymer composition in electrostatic field.
EP2732079B1 - Method for application of liquid polymeric material onto spinning cords and a device for production of nanofibers through electrostatic spinning.

• Przemek Ben Paczek and team (Poland).
Invention: Magnetic propulsion retrofitting technology to upgrade rails. 
Sample patents 
EP3841249B1 - Magnetic levitation railway system.
EP3938577B1 - Vacuum tube railway system.

• Franck Zal (France)
Invention: Captured the oxygen-carrying molecule M101 in marine worm hemoglobin for the preservation of transplant organs and other medical therapeutic uses. 
Sample patent 
EP3008166B1 - Sand worm lyophilisate and uses thereof.
EP2748306B1 - Use of annelid hemoglobin for maintaining stem cells in the undifferentiated state.
EP2184977B1 - Use of a globin, a globin protomer or an extracellular hemoglobin for the preservation of organs, tissues, organ and tissue cells.

Research
• Adrian V.S. Hill (Ireland/United Kingdom) 
Invention: Invention of an adjuvant for the development of a highly effective malaria vaccine.
Sample patent
EP2945649 B1 -  Composition and uses thereof.

• Mikko Möttönen (Finland)
Invention: Cryogenic microwave sensor for quantum computing.
Sample patent
EP3714245B1 - Cryogenic microwave analyzer.

• Paula Videira and team (Portugal)
Invention: The L2a5 monoclonal antibody for identifying and targeting cancer cells. 
Sample patent 
EP3743726B1 - L2a5 antibody or functional fragment thereof against tumor antigens.

Non-EPO Countries
• Yu Haijun and Xie Yinghao (China)
Invention: Smart battery recycling, using "reverse-positioning" technology to convert spent batteries into ultra-high-quality new cathode materials.
Sample patent
EP4206141B1 - Method for preparing lithium nickel cobalt manganate by means of reverse positioning of power battery and use thereof.

• Emily Morris and Thorsten Stoesser (United States/Germany). 
Invention: Novel distributed hydropower generation systems.
Sample patent
EP3682107B1 - Hydro transition systems and methods of using the same.

• Aníbal Montalva Rodríguez and Miguel Ángel Fernández Donoso (Chile). 
Invention: Sample patent: Living biofilter for efficient air purification
Sample patent
EP3345671B1 - Systems for decontamination by means of a biofilter for retaining and recycling pollutants of particulate material from combustion fumes, and method thereof.

Reference

European Patent Awards 2026 - Press Release

https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/press-centre/press-release/2026/1362414

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (4)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The  Blue Dot Rule Console, with two softclose doors and two softclose drawers, is part of a 5-piece Blu Dot Rule Collection, comprising nightstand, large dresser, chiffonier and 1-door 2 drawers console. The pieces are all about geometry, each resting on a powder-coated steel base.

The Rule Console design was granted the US design patent USD870492S, titled Console. The patent was awarded to Warren Young, an in-house designer at Blu Dot, on December 24, 2019.

The patent Figure 1 together with an image of a marketed Rule Console in solid oak veneer,  are enclosed below.

Reference

Blu Dot furniture

https://www.bludot.com/

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (3)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Blu Dot Host Chair is a bucket dining chair made of engineered wood and molded foam for generous padding and comfort. The Blu Dot Host chair was granted the US design patent USD890541S, titled Chair. The patent was awarded on July  21, 2020 to B. Bradshaw Bray, former Senior designer at Blu Dot. The patent is assigned to Blu Dot Design & Manufacturing in Minneapolis, MN. 

The patent Figure 1, together with an image of a marketed embodiment of the Host Chair, is included below. The two broken lines running down the middle of the chair indicate that all portions of the design are covered, since nothing appears between the broken lines, which conventionally mark boundaries between what is claimed and unclaimed in a patent.

Reference
Blue Dot 
https://www.bludot.com/

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (2)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Blu Dot Neat Chair, shown below in charcoal wool-blend felt, is completely covered from top to bottom in felt. Under the felt, the Neat Chair has a wood frame, injected foam, and metal legs. The “footie pajama” design is built to offer soft, comfortable seating. 

The Blu Dot Neat Chair is also a patented design. The US design patent, USD845021S, titled Dining Chair, was awarded to B. Bradshaw Bray, former Senior Designer at Blu Dot, on April 9th, 2019. The patent was assigned to Blu Dot Design & Manufacturing, Inc., Minneapolis, MN. 

The patent Figure 1, depicting a front-right perspective view of the chair, is also included below. The dotted lines at the bottom of the four chair legs indicate that the small chair feet form no part of the claimed design.  

Reference

Blu Dot 

https://www.bludot.com/

Oh, patents! Blu Dot furniture (1)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Founded in Minneapolis, in 1997, by college friends, architects and sculptor, John Christakos, Maurice Blanks, and Charlie Lazo, Blu Dot seeks to make good design accessible to as many people as possible. Everything that is sold at Blu Dot stores is designed in-house. 

In 2018, the company was awarded the prestigious Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum, National Design Award, in the category of Product Design. The company was also granted several US design patents. 

For example, the US Design patent, USD905978S, titled Seating unit, was awarded on Dec. 29th, 2020, to Blu Dot Designer, Scott Smrstick. The patent was then assigned to Blu Dot Design & Manufacturing, Inc., in Minneapolis, MN. 

The patent Figure 1, showing a front upper perspective view of the design, is included below. The two symbolic broken lines, running the length of the design, indicate that all portions of the design are covered, since nothing appears between the broken lines, which conventionally mark boundaries between what is claimed and unclaimed in a patent.

An image of a marketed embodiment of the design, in velvet, is also included below, facing the patent Figure 1. The invented design is designated the Bloke Lounge Chair in stores. 

References
Blu Dot 
https://www.bludot.com/
2018 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award Winners
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/national-design-awards/2018-national-design-awards-winners/ 

Oh, patents! Madeleine Vionnet [1876 - 1975] (2)

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

A US design patent, USD82687S, titled Design for a bottle or similar container was awarded to Madeliene Vionnet, on May 17th, 1927. The  Art Deco-style bottle was made of clear glass with flattened metal edges.  

Below, the patent Figure 1, together with a marketed embodiment of the design. 

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Reference

Maison Vionnet 

https://www.vionnet.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooPBS18XeWeZo8qIDFq33CNMnhi4Le2XSOQLdP9Iq-Et4bHhWZw

Oh, patents! Madeleine Vionnet [1876-1975] (1)

 Copyright ☺ Françoise Herrmann 

Born in 1876, Madeleine Vionnet was a French fashion designer, credited for having invented bias-cut dresses. These were dresses cut at a 45-degree angle to the fabric’s warp and weft threads, instead of straight along the grain. As a result, Vionnet was able to drape dresses, using the natural stretch of the fabric, which enabled her to create dresses that mold women’s bodies. Indeed, Vionnet was part of a movement in the 1930s that liberated women from the corset, creating figure-hugging garments that flowed, instead of restricting women’s bodies.

Madeleine Vionnet opened her own Fashion House, rue de Rivoli, in Paris, in 1912, which she was forced to close twice: once because of World War I (in 1914), and a second time because of World War II (in 1939). Thus, she was a leading fashion designer during the roaring 20s up to the Great Depression, between both wars. The archives of her work are preserved at the Decorative Arts Museum (Musée des Arts Décoratifs [MAD]), housed in the Marsan Pavillion at The Louvre, in Paris. 

The following French utility patent, FR576334A, titled Perfectionnement dans la confection des robes de dames [Improvements in dressmaking for ladies] was granted on May 10th, 1924. The patent recites an improved process for dressmaking whereby the garment’s pattern, and the fabric’s ornaments or decorations, in this case lamé, are both anticipated and drawn, prior to weaving the fabric.

This improved dressmaking process was intended to resolve several problems with the prior art. First, this improved dressmaking process eliminated the costly and time-consuming process of embroidering lamé, or adding decorations onto the fabric, after it is cut and assembled for each client. Secondly, this improved dressmaking process avoided “mutilating” lamé designs and fabric decorations, pre-woven on a bolt of material, which was then subsequently cut to the neckline, armholes, waist or hip line of a given pattern. In other words, the dressmaking improvement avoided interrupting an existing motif, or wasting fabric to get a pre-existing motif to fit the garment shape and pattern. Finally, the invention would enable garments to be easily adjusted to size and length, without cutting into a pre-existing design. The fabric decoration, lamé, or other embroidery or painting, would be created within the boundaries (collar, arm holes, waistline) of an outlined pattern, prior to weaving, thus transforming the dressmaking end-of-process—garment cutting and assembly— into swift and cost-effective steps.

The patent Figure 2 is included below, together with an image of a marketed dress. The Figure 2 depicts a cut and assembled dress with the ornamental decoration at the top, perfectly fitting the neckline and shoulder assembly points, without interruptions to the ornamental motif.

References

Maison Vionnet 

https://www.vionnet.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooPBS18XeWeZo8qIDFq33CNMnhi4Le2XSOQLdP9Iq-Et4bHhWZw

MAD - Madeleine Vionnet  Puriste de la Mode. Catalogue de l’Exposition du 24 juin 2009, au 1er janvier 2010. Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Pavillon Marsan du Musée du Louvre.

https://madparis.fr/spip.php?page=recherche&lang=fr&recherche=Madeleine+vionnet&x=0&y=0

Vionnet (Instagram)

https://www.instagram.com/vionnet_paris/