WIPO
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NOS News•today, 19:08
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The Dutch water recycling company Hydraloop has won a UN prize for innovation. It is the first time that the WIPO prize has been awarded. It looks at how individuals and companies use innovative solutions and creativity to make a difference.
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Hydraloop, with its head office in Leeuwarden, designed a system that reuses bath water, water from the washing machine or from the air conditioning. The water is collected and cleaned and can then be used to flush the toilet, water the garden or top up a swimming pool. It purging happens without filters or chemicals. The system saves up to 45 percent of water.
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improve the world
WIPO stands for World Intellectual Property Organization. The UN organization that registers patent applications worldwide has been in existence since 1967. The WIPO Global Awards Program also awarded prizes to entrepreneurs from China, Japan and Singapore. They received the prize for early cancer detection, energy-saving lighting, dementia diagnosis and improved medical imaging.
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The winners were selected from 272 entries from 62 countries. “All five are working to make the world a better place,” Director General Daren Tang said at the award ceremony. “They get support from WIPO to help their business grow.”
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Tang is proud that the new UN award can help individuals and companies use their patents for positive change. “This creates a community of role models who share our vision that intellectual property can help everyone, everywhere.”
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