Terms and conditions
This year's European Inventor Award will see one of the 12 finalists take home the Popular Prize 2023. Which inventor this honour should go to will be decided solely by a public vote. Voters can find out more about all the nominated inventors and their innovations by viewing their profiles (text, images and videos) on the website of the European Patent Office (EPO) www.epo.org.
1. Voting
Votes in the Popular Prize category can be cast online on the dedicated EPO website popular-prize.epo.org from 9 May 2023, 08:00 hrs CEST. The end of the voting will take place during the ceremony on 4 July 2023, after the announcement of the winners of the Young Inventors Prize.
Participants can vote once a day for one of the 12 finalists. Voting is free of charge.
When participants vote for the first time, they will be asked to confirm that the details entered are correct by clicking a link sent by email. This is necessary to complete the process and submit a valid vote.
The votes will be counted on 4 July 2023, the day on which the winner will be announced at the online European Inventor Award ceremony.
2. Eligibility
The vote in the Popular Prize category of the European Inventor Award 2023 is organised by the EPO in its capacity as a body of the European Patent Organisation, headquartered in Munich.
To be eligible to vote, participants must be aged 18 or over at the time of voting. They need to enter their email address and consent to these terms and conditions.
EPO staff and their families (spouses, partners and other adult relatives) are eligible to vote.
Any person involved in organising and running the vote is disqualified from voting, as are members of their family.
The EPO also reserves the right to decide at its discretion to disqualify any person from voting if there is good reason to do so, e.g. where that person:
- is suspected of manipulating the vote (e.g. by repeat voting by automated means)
- has breached these terms and conditions
- has provided false or misleading information for the purposes of voting.
The EPO cannot be held liable for any technical difficulties or outages encountered on the voting platform. Nor can it be held liable for any damage, costs or other expenses directly or indirectly incurred in voting.
3. Early close of voting
The EPO expressly reserves the right to close voting early without prior notice and without giving reasons. In particular, it may decide to do so if it has reason to suspect interference with the outcome of the vote, e.g. in the form of votes cast by automated means.
4. Social media
The EPO uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram to provide information about the Popular Prize. However, none of those platform providers is involved in sponsoring, organising or supporting, or is otherwise associated with, the Popular Prize.
5. Applicable law
The EPO-run vote is governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany.
6. Severability
Should any of these terms and conditions be or become wholly or partially invalid, the remaining clauses will still apply. Instead of the invalid provision, a lawful one that comes closest to achieving its economic object and purpose will be applied. The same will apply by analogy if there is a gap in these terms and conditions.
7. Additional information and contact
Questions about the vote can be sent to the EPO at european-inventor@epo.org