European Inventor Awards - The 2026 trophy. (5)

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Each year, the European Inventor Award winners receive a trophy in the shape of a sail. Pun intended in English, although when the power of the wind was first harnessed for sailing, circa 5000 BC, on Egypt’s River Nile, the invention is certainly assumed to have promoted new trade routes. In any event, the sail design holds up well across cultures as a symbol of adventure or discovery, and by extension, innovation.

The stunning sail trophy was designed by the German industrial Product Designer, Prof. Miriam Irle. Most importantly, the sail trophy was also designed with the insight that it would be fabricated each year in a material significant to the location of the awards ceremony. Thus, for example, when the European Inventor Awards ceremony was held in Venice, Italy, the trophies were made of Murano glass. Likewise, when the European Inventor Awards were held in Lisbon, Portugal, the sail trophies were made of azulejo porcelain. Whereas, when the ceremony was held in France, the sail trophies were fabricated using computer-aided parametric modeling for 3D stereolithographic printing. As a result, each of the 2018 sail trophies featured different and intricate latticework. Six lattice designs, for the six award categories, each evoking the landmark Eiffel Tower's revolutionary, open-lattice ironwork, created using 18,000 pre-cut iron pieces, and built from 1887 to 1889.

The year 2026 was no exception in Berlin, Germany. However, the fabricator’s name and the materials used for the trophies were both withheld at the EPO website.*  An image of the 2026 Inventor Awards Trophy, which appears to be crafted of metal, is inset above. 

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*Note: According to Pr. Miriam Irle (personal communication), the early agreed-upon trophy designer was the well-known Berlin jewelry maker Luise Zücker. A selection which could not be confirmed at the time of the Ceremony.  

References
European Inventor Award
https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/european-inventor-award
Miriam Irle
https://www.miriam-irle.com/

EPO Young European Inventors Awards – The 2025 Trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The winners of the Young European Inventors Awards not only receive cash prizes. The winners also receive a trophy. A trophy masterminded by Miriam Irle, an industrial designer located in Munich, Germany. The trophy is truly special on several counts. First, the shape of the trophy is symbolic. Crafted as a “sail” (no pun intended), the trophy was designed as a symbol of the exploration and ingenuity that propels inventors on the frontiers of discovery. Secondly, the trophy is fabricated each year from locally significant materials, in the city or country where the Awards ceremony is held. Thus, for example, in 2016, when the European Inventor Awards were held in Lisbon, Portugal, the sail trophies were each uniquely crafted from Portuguese azulejo ceramics. Likewise, in 2017, when the European Inventor Awards were held in Venice, Italy, the sail trophies were each uniquely crafted out of the famous Murano glass.

The year 2025 was no exception. To celebrate the winning Young European Inventors, each team received a uniquely designed sail trophy, crafted from black sand and glass, by Brynhildur Þorgeirsdóttir, a renowned artist in Reykjavik, Iceland. Black sand resulting from the erosion of volcanic rock, found on the beaches at Reynisfjara, on the south coast of Iceland. And glass, reminiscent of the glacial landscape in Iceland, where a thriving community of glassmakers exists.

Below, the image of a black sand and glass model for the sail trophies that were presented on June 18th, during the Awards Ceremony, held in Reykjavik, Iceland. According to Miriam Irle (personal communication forwarded to her):

"The trophies were produced by a local glass artist (https://www.brynhildur.com/about). Color was slowly dropped into the hot glass to achieve the melted structure. After being polished, a double layer of black volcanic sand was added, and the letters were sandblasted (the trophy in the photo was the backup, hence no labeling). The trophies were color-matched to the four categories and were produced in blue, black, red, and yellow."

References

Brynhildur Þorgeirsdóttir

https://www.brynhildur.com/

Miriam Irle

https://www.miriam-irle.com/

EPO Young European Inventors 2025

https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/news/young-inventors-prize-2025-meet-tomorrow-shapers

European Inventor Awards (6) - The Trophy

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The European Inventor Awards Trophy was designed by the German Industrial Designer, Miriam Irle. The trophy is shaped like a sail (no English pun intended). A sail that harnessed the winds of exploration some 3000 years ago as a lasting symbol of innovation. However, the trophy design is not only loaded with symbolic meaning, the trophy is also produced each year using an industrial process, material or craft that is quintessential in the country hosting the awards ceremony. 

This year was no exception. The trophy was made of limestone, the most abundant building material found on the island of Malta, also used for centuries to build churches, palaces and the walled cities of the island. Cities like Valletta, the capital of Malta, built in the 1500s, now a Unesco World Heritage Center, hosting the 2024 European Inventor Awards ceremony. For a historical city celebrating innovation on the occasion of the 2024 EPO Awards ceremony, this year’s trophy also combined the innovation of 3D printing using the iconic and historical building material of the island of Malta. 

References

European Inventor Awards 2024

https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/european-inventor-award 

Miriam Irle

https://www.miriam-irle.com/

EPO Inventor Awards 2023 - The Trophies

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The winners of the European Inventor Awards receive a trophy in the shape of sail (no puns intended). In other words, a sail-shaped trophy powered by the winds of ingenuity and research, as well as the promise of promotion, considering the increased visibility conferred by such a prestigious award.

The European Inventors Award sail trophy was designed by the German industrial designer Miriam Irle, with the added twist that the sail be manufactured in the city where the European Inventor Awards Ceremony takes place. A local manufacture of the trophy each year, highlighting the iconic craftsmanship of a particular local industry or workshop. For example, the 2015 European Inventor Awards sail trophy,  made out of famous venetian murano glass, was blown in Venice, Italy, where the 2015 Awards Ceremony took place. Likewise, the 2016 trophy, made of azulejo ceramic tile, was fired in Lisbon, Portugal, where the 2016 Awards Ceremony took place. 

The year 2023 was no exception. The trophies were locally-made of socarrat* red (oxidized iron) and black (manganese) ceramic tile. Each trophy was hand-painted, using different 15th century-stye decorative Valencian designs, one for each of the seven categories of award: Industry, Research, Small and Medium Enterprise, Non-European Country, Lifetime Achievement and Popular Prize. However, in complete contrast, the three trophies awarded to the Young Inventors (<30 years of age), were hand-painted ceramic by Alicante-based ROSH333, currently one of the most famous Street artists in Spain.

Below, images of two of the 2023 traditional, Valencia-ceramic, craft-guild-design trophies, awarded respectively in the Non-European Country and Lifetime Achievement categories, plus one of the contrasting Young Inventor Award trophies, hand-painted by the street artist ROSH333.

 

                                        

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* socarrat, meaning "burnt" in Catalan, refers to the high temperature used to bake the hand-painted pigment into the clay. 

References

European Inventors’Award – The 2016 Trophy
https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2016/06/epo-inventor-awards-2016-trophy.html

European Inventors’Award – The 2015 Trophy
https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2015/06/european-inventor-awards-2015-trophy.html

Miram Irle
http://www.miriam-irle.com/

ROSS333
www.RLove.es

The Award
https://inventoraward.epo.org/

2022 European Inventor Awards: The Trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Masterminded by the German industrial designer Miriam Irle, transformation across time distinguishes the design of the European Inventor Awards Trophy. In other words, each year, the European Inventor Awards’ trophy is reinvented locally, at a flagship manufacturer workshop or company. Always in the shape of a polysemic sail, harnessing the winds of innovation, the trophy is re-embodied each year using different materials, fabrication processes and/or design. The iteration of the 2022 European Inventor trophy is no exception.

Fabricated at Sandhelden, a Bavarian creative manufactory, specializing in the production, and post-processing of 3D objects made of sand, the design of each 2022 trophy is made of a different constellation of sand bricks. Inspired by the “domino effect” and the fact that objects might let more or less light pass through, depending on their density and orientation, the sails reveal a special dynamic effect when placed together in a particular order. While individually, each sculptured award casts a different pattern of shadow and light, depending on its spatial position.

References
Miriam Irle
https://www.miriam-irle.com/

Sandhelden
https://www.sandhelden.de/

European Inventor Awards - The 2021 Trophy

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Each year, the winners of the European Inventor Awards receive a trophy, in the shape of a sail, designed by the German Industrial Designer Miriam Irle. Irle's design of the sail trophy also calls for a different fabrication process each year. Thus, the sail is variously fabricated, using carefully selected quintessential local talent, from the European country where the Awards ceremony takes place. For example, when the Awards ceremony took place in Venice, Italy, the trophies were fabricated at a Murano glass workshop. Likewise, when the ceremony took place in Lisbon, Portugal, the sails were fabricated at a renowned Azulejos ceramics workshop.

In 2021, considering that the EPO Inventor Awards ceremony took place online, due to pandemic restrictions, the fabrication of the 2021 trophy remained a complete surprise, until the June 17^th_­online  event.

The Irle sail trophy for the 2021 EPO Inventor Awards was fabricated using Green Cast® acrylic. Invented in Italy, Green Cast® acrylic is an ever recyclable material, made from 100% pre- and post-consumer recycled plastics. In theory, once a sheet of Green Cast® acrylic is made and used, the no-longer useful end object can then be recycled into another sheet of Green Cast® acrylic. Thus, Green Cast® acrylic might never be discarded into a landfill, nor will the materials ever lose any of their optical, mechanical or thermal properties. 

Below, an image of the six different, 2021, Green Cast® acrylic sail trophies, awarded to the winning Inventors of the EPO contest. Each separate sail trophy design corresponds to one of the categories of the awards.

2021 European Inventor Trophy

References

EPO - About the Award (2021).  https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor/about.html

Greencast® by Madre Perka (Italy).   http://www.madreperlaspa.com/UK/madreperla.html

Miriam Irle https://www.miriam-irle.com/

European Inventor Awards Popular Prize - Vote here!

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The distinguished Jury of the European Patent Awards selected 15 finalists, among hundreds of nominations, in the five award categories of Research, Industry, Small & Medium Enterprises (SME), Non-European Patent Organization country, and Lifetime Achievement. However, one additional prize is awarded, during the Awards Ceremony, as a result of the popular vote.  Consequently, this is your chance to vote. The finalist who receives the most popular votes will be awarded  the sixth European Inventor trophy.

The Popular Vote electronic polling station is open for everyone to cast, not one, but many votes. According to the European Patent Office rules, you may vote as many times as you wish, but only once a day, for a single invention.  Therefore, dear Reader, you are invited to cast your ballot(s).

To vote for your favorite invention, please click here.

Until June 17th, Central European Summer Time (CEST) 7 pm. when all the winners of the European Inventor Award will be celebrated, the short YouTube video included below is a teaser about the European Inventor Awards 2021.

References

EPO - Europea Inventor Awards https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor.html

EPO - European Inventor Awards - The 2021 Finalists https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor.html 

EPO - Jury members of the European Inventors Awards 2021  https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor/jury.html 

EPO - European Inventor Awards Popular Prize Voting page - https://popular-prize.epo.org/

European Inventor Awards - The 2021 Finalists

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Each year, since 2006 (except 2020), the European Patent Office has recognized inventors in five categories, within the context of the European Inventor Awards. The five categories of award are Research, Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), Non-European Patent Organization country, and Lifetime Achievement. The EPO just announced the list of the fifteen 2021 Finalists (included below), three in each of the five previously mentioned categories. 

In the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Award ceremony promises to be special. Indeed, the ceremony will take place on June 17^th 2021, at 19:00 hours, Central European Summer Time (CEST), in an extended reality mode, including 3D animation, with no pre-registration. In other words, for the first time since the inception of the Awards, the awards ceremony will be open to the public on a global basis, free of charge.  

Considering the new distributed augmented reality format of the 2021 Awards ceremony, the 2021 trophy also promises to be interesting. In the shape of a sail, fabrication of the Inventor Award trophy is always commissioned from local manufacturers, as a showcase of renowned craftsmanship, in the country where the Awards ceremony takes place. For example, the trophy was made of Murano glass, when the 2017 Awards ceremony took place in Venice, Italy.  Likewise, the trophy was made of azulejo ceramics when the 2016 Awards ceremony took place in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2021, however, the trophy commission is much harder to predict.

An EPO YouTube video presenting the list of Finalists is included below, together with a list of the inventors and hyperlinked patents of the contending inventions.

Research

• Marco Donolato and team (IT/DK)

    Invention: Magnetic nanoparticles to diagnose disease.

    Sample patent: EP3014245

• Robert N. Grass (AT) and Wendelin Stark (CH)

    Invention : DNA-based data storage.

    Sample patent: EP2831268

• Mathias Fink and Mickael Tanter (FR)

    Invention: Ultrasound imaging method using shear waves.

    Sample patents: EP2561380, EP2342582, EP1866667, EP1546757 and EP1531734

Industry

• Per Gisle Djupesland (NO) 

    Invention : Better nasal drug delivery.

    Sample patent: EP2340865

• Christoph Gürtler, Walter Leitner and team (DE)

    Invention : Using carbon dioxide to make greener plastics.

    Sample patents:  EP3041883, EP3008100

• Jan van der Tempel (NL)

    Invention: Safe transfer to and from offshore platforms.

    Sample patents :  EP1993902, EP2603422

 Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)

• Carmen Hijosa (ES)

    Invention: Turning pineapple leaves into a sustainable alternative to leather.

    Sample patent: EP2576881 

• Ben Kibel and Pete Kibel (UK)

    Invention: Fishing hook cover to save seabirds.

    Sample patent: EP2731423 

• Henrik Lindström and Giovanni Fili (SE)

    Invention: Flexible solar cells for portable devices.

    Sample patent: EP2625703

 Non-European Patent Organization country

• Bo Pi and Yi He (CN)

    Invention: Live fingerprint sensors for greater security.

    Sample patent : EP3072083 

• Kim Lewis and Slava S. Epstein (US/RU)

    Invention: Tools to cultivate microbes.

    Sample patents:  EP1456401, EP1999248

• Sumita Mitra (IN/US)

    Invention: Restoring smiles with nanomaterials.

    Sample patents : EP1225867, EP1227782, EP1229886, EP1771143

Lifetime Achievement

• Metin Colpan (DE)

    Efficient tools to analyze nucleic acids.

    Sample patents: EP0268946, EP0104210 

• Karl Leo (DE)

    Advances in organic semiconductors.

    Sample patents: EP1488468, EP1861886, EP2658006 

• Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic (RS/US)

    Advances in tissue engineering.

    Sample patents : EP2408401, EP1112348

References

European Patent Office ( EPO) www.epo.org

EPO – European Inventor Awards https://www.epo.org/news-events/events/european-inventor.html

EPO - European Inventor Awards 2021 Finalists Announced  https://www.epo.org/news-events/press/european-inventor-award/2021.html

EPO Inventor Awards 2019 - The trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Designed and conceived by German Industrial Designer Miriam Irle, the European Inventor Awards trophy, in the significant shape of a sail, is also re-invented each year, as it is fabricated locally,  in the country where the awards ceremony takes place, using a different process.  This year, in Vienna (Austria), was no exception. The sail-shaped trophy was fabricated from wood using sophisticated computer-generated 3D design and modeling.

The European Patent Office (EPO) video below, narrated by Miriam Irle, reviews the history of the trophy, and shows the behind-the-scenes, computer-assisted, woodworking process used for the fabrication of the trophies awarded this year. 

Reference

EPO - European Patent Office

www.epo.org

European Inventor Awards - The 2018 Trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Each year, the EPO award winners receive a Miriam Irle-designed trophy, in the shape of a sail (with no English pun intended). 5000 years ago the power of the wind was harnassed in sailboats to promote trade and exploration. Thus, the trophy’s sail shape represents the spirit of innovation, each year celebrated anew at the EPO awards ceremony.

2018 trophy

The European Inventors’ Award trophy is not only symbolically loaded because of its shape, it is also, each year, manufactured locally in the country hosting the awards ceremony, using materials or a manufacturing process that is locally significant.  For example, when the awards ceremony took place in Venice, Italy, the 2017 trophy was manufactured using Murano glass. When the awards ceremony took place in Lisbon, Portugal, the 2016 trophy was manufactured using azulejo ceramic tile. This year is no exception, in Saint Germain-en Laye, France. Indeed, the selected manufacturing process, using computer-aided parametric design with 3D stereolithographic printing, is even re-emphasized, as it was previously selected in 2015, when the awards ceremony took place in Paris, France.   

The 2018 European Inventors’ Award displays an intricate double layer latticework, which can only be computer-generated using computer-assisted parametric design, molded and produced with 3D stereolithographic processes. Whether the intricate latticework selected is reminiscent of Gustave Eiffel’s famous tower (as it was for the 2015 trophy), or inspired by the fractal wonders of nature (as it is in 2018), the sail trophy is also awarded each year, as a work of art. In 2018 specifically, the trophy was awarded as a work of art celebrating the computer, and especially computer-generated art, including the computer-driven 3D stereolithographic printing process.

The YouTube video included below shows some of the manufacturing process invoked in the production of the 2018 trophies.

Incidentally, the 3D-stereolithographic printing process, used to manufacture the trophies, was invented by Charles W. Hull, who was the recipient of a European Inventor’s Award in the non-EPO country category, in 2014, in Berlin, Germany.

References

European Inventors’Award – The 2017 Trophy

https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2017/07/epo-inventor-awards-2017-trophy.html

European Inventors’Award – The 2016 Trophy

https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2016/06/epo-inventor-awards-2016-trophy.html

European Inventors’Award – The 2015 Trophy
https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2015/06/european-inventor-awards-2015-trophy.html

Charles W. Hull - 3D Systems – Our Story

https://www.3dsystems.com/our-story

Miram Irle

http://www.miriam-irle.com/

EPO Inventor Awards - The 2017 Trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

On May 11, 2017, the post at Patents on the soles of your shoes covered Murano glass and its intimate connection to the origins of patents, some 600 years ago, in the Republic Venice. This was hardly coincidental, considering that the European Inventors’ Award ceremony would be taking place the following month in Venice, Italy, and that the finalists had just been announced.

The post ended with an educated guess regarding the 2017 trophies that would be awarded to the 6 inventors (or teams of inventors). 

The design of the  EPO Inventor Award trophy represents a sail (with and without a pun), It was created by Miriam Irle, a German industrial designer. However, what also makes the design so striking and uncommon is that each year the sail trophies are crafted from a different material or process, of significance to the country hosting the awards ceremony. For example, last year, in Lisbon, Portugal, Miriam Irle selected the famous Portuguese azulejo ceramic tile for casting and production of the trophy. (Herrmann, June 10, 2016). Likewise in 2015, in Paris, France, the trophy was cast in bronze, using a 3D printing process. (Herrmann, June 13, 2015)

So, my guess for the European Inventor's Award trophy, this year in Venice, was the following:

In regards the 2017 EPO Inventor Awards…my conjecture is that the 2017 trophy will be made of Murano glass. […] Of course, I might be zapped… and completely wrong. [Herrmann, May 11, 2017]

The good news is that there was no blood shed for the guesswork…Indeed, according to the following, recently released EPO video, the 2017 European Inventor Award trophies were made of Murano glass, as predicted, on the Island of Murano, just a few nautical miles from the ancient city Venice.

References

Herrmann F. (May 11, 2017) Oh, patents! Murano glass

http://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2017/05/oh-patents-murano-glass.html
Herrmann, F. (June 10, 2016)  EPO Inventor Awards - The 2016 Trophy
https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2016/06/epo-inventor-awards-2016-trophy.html
Herrmann, F. (June 13, 2015) EPO Inventor Awards - The 2015 Trophy
https://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2015/06/european-inventor-awards-2015-trophy.html 

Miriam Irle

http://www.miriam-irle.com/

Oh, patents ! Murano Glass

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The EPO awards ceremony will take place this year in Venice, Italy, located less than one nautical mile from the small archipelago of Murano, known for its 800-year-old glass manufacturing activity! 800 years… !

Indeed, it was in 1291 that all the Venetian glassmakers were ordered out of Venice to the small archipelago of Murano. The reasons invoked were the hazards that the furnaces used for glassblowing posed to all the wooden structures of Venice, which was also overpopulated at the time.

Until their secrets were stolen a couple centuries later, the Murano (Venetian) artisan glassmakers were the inventors and custodians of several glassmaking processes. Most importantly, the Murano glass artisans knew how to make mirrors, and they invented decorative processes involving the use of colored glass rods, such as filigrana (glass threaded with colored glass, where the color rods are stretched and fused) and millefiori (multicolored glass with “flower” designs where the color rods are cross-sectioned). Other glass processes originating in Murano included the invention of crystal (clear glass), lattimo (opaque “milk” glass), smalto (glass mosaic) and glass gemstones such as goldstone or aventurine (with a host of additional folkloric names such as monkstone, monk’s gold, stellaria and sangesetareh…)

Nowadays, the small archipelago of Murano (also called the Glass Island of Venice, even though Murano consists of 7 small islands connected by bridges) is still home to both artisan glassmakers and commercial production of glass. The oldest glassmaking company (and family), Barovier & Toso® founded in 1295, is still operating to date...with a website too! It is one of the five oldest companies in the world.

Considering that the Parte Venezia, decreed by the Republic of Venice as early as 1474, is believed to be the very first patent statute, the glassmakers of Venice (Murano) were probably among the first inventors to ever receive patent protection! In any event, the secrets of the Glassmakers’ Guilds were initially well guarded with 1295 legislation even preventing the artisans from traveling outside of the Republic of Venice, in exchange for various privileges granted to the nobility.

In a less radical mode, the 1474 Venetian patent statute required all inventors to file their inventions, and in exchange of this disclosure, granted them exclusive rights to use their inventions for a time-bound period of up to 10 years. Indeed, according to some researchers (e.g.; Feirreira Nascimiento, 2016), who have investigated early patents in Europe (France, England and Germany) and in the US, it even appears that the spirit of “recorded” innovation is strongly linked to the development of the glass industry.

Below, a copy of the 1474 Parte Venezia, containing, in a nutshell, the most essential tenets of the patenting system, as it exists to date. (A Cambridge University translation is hyperlinked in the Reference section).

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In regards the 2017 EPO Inventor Awards…my conjecture is that the 2017 trophy will be made of Murano glass. The European inventor trophy design is a “Sail” that is crafted each year from different local materials.  

Of course, I might be zapped… and completely wrong.

References
Barovier & Toso®

https://www.barovier.com/en/
Barovier & Toso® Museum
https://www.barovier.com/en/azienda/museo/

Feirreira Nascimiento, M. L.  (2016) The first patents and the rise of glass technology

Recent innovations in Chemical Engineering, 9, 1-11.

http://www.lamav.ufba.br/pdf/RICE9.pdf

Rasmussen, S. C. (2008) Advances in 13^th century glassmaking and their effect on chemical progress. Bull. Hist. Chem. 33(1), pp. 28-34.

http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/bulletin_open_access/v33-1/v33-1%20p28-34.pdf

Venetian Statute (1474) - Translation to English
http://www.copyrighthistory.org/cam/tools/request/showRepresentation?id=representation_i_1474
Venetian Patent Statute - Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Venetian_Patent_Statute_1474.png

Ora-ïto INPI 2016 Innovation Trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Each of the INPI 2016 Innovation Trophy winners received the following Ora-ïto designed trophy: 

Reference

Ora-ito

https://www.ora-ito.com/en/  

INPI 2016 Innovation trophies – The winners!

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The winners of the 2016 INPI Innovation trophies in the four categories of Trademark, Patents, Research and Design, are the following:

• Obut®, a pétanque ball company in the Trademark category.  
• Wandercraft, a firm designing robotic exoskeletons for wheelchair users, striving to create ordinary lives for extraordinary people, in the Patent category. 
• LAPHIA (Laser and Photonics in Aquitaine) an interdisciplinary cluster of research, operating with funds from the University of Bordeaux, bringing together multidisciplinary teams focused on laser and high energy physics, photonics and materials, and innovative imaging, in the Research category.
• Procédés Chénel, a firm creating interior design solutions made of paper, with a more than 100-year old history, dating back to 1896, in the Design category.

The lucky winners not only received an Ora-ïto designed trophy. They were also treated to 25 years of macaron dessert creations, celebrating the 25th annual award of the INPI Innovation Trophies, offered by the master pastry-chef and President of the Jury Pierre Hermé.

As for the People’s Choice Trophy, where you might have cast a vote, results remain undisclosed.👠

References

INPI 2016 Innovation Trophy Awards
https:/ww.inpi.fr/fr/trophees-inpi-2016

Pierre Hermé

http://www.pierreherme.com/

Ora-ïto

https://www.ora-ito.com/en/

Obut

https://www.obut.com/

Wandercraft

http://www.wandercraft.eu/

LAPHIA

http://laphia.labex.u-bordeaux.fr/en/

Procédés Chénel
https://chenel.com/

EPO Inventor Awards - The 2016 Trophy

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The winners of a European Inventor Award each receive a trophy designed as a sail by Miriam Irle, a German industrial designer. The European Inventor Award sail trophy was thus selected to symbolize the winds of change and the spirit of innovation. And each year, as part of the spirit of discovery, the sail trophy is cast in a different material, or crafted with a different process, that is locally significant, in the particular country hosting the awards ceremony.

Since the 2016 European Inventors Awards were hosted in Lisbon Portugal on June 9, 2016, Miriam Irle chose this year to craft the European Inventor award trophy out of Portuguese azulejo ceramic tile. 

Portuguese azulejo tiles historically adorn walls, ceilings, and floors, still bearing witness, telling stories, artistically drawn and baked into the ceramic, while also performing an ancient air-conditioning function. 

The local Portuguese azulejo artist, Catia Sofia Melo, who was commissioned to produce and paint the 2016 ceramic tile sail, created six different designs, one for each of the five award categories, and the popular award.

Below a video about the 2016 European Inventor award trophy and it’s fabrication.

Reference

European Inventor Award 2016 : The Trophy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2K5rnML3nA

Herrmann, F. (Feb. 22, 2015) Tonight the OSCARS! In June the EPO Inventor Awards!

http://patentsonthesolesofyourshoes.blogspot.com/2015/02/tonight-oscars-in-june-epo-inventor.html 

Miriam Irle

http://www.miriam-irle.com/