A European patent belonging to AIM-listed Ceres Power has
been opposed. According to Espacenet,
the patent in question is the earliest of Ceres’ filings, claiming priority
from an application initially filed by Imperial College London.
The risk of opposition was indirectly acknowledged in Ceres’
2011 Annual Report, which stated that “there is always a degree of
uncertainty over the ability to register certain IP rights. IP insurance provides additional protection
for agreement, pursuit and defence of IP terms and rights”.
Perhaps surprisingly given Ceres’ focus on developing fuel
cell technology for use in small scale combined heat and power products for the
residential sector and energy security applications, the opposition comes from
the German Centre for Air- and Space-Travel (DLR). DLR’s website indicates that they are using fuel cell technology
to supply an electric motor to drive an aircraft during taxiing.
According
to an article entitled "Breakthrough IP" in the UK IPO’s IP Insight newsletter, Ceres has from the start
focused on applications for its fuel cell in the home. The 2011 Annual Report also sets out a
strategy of co-development and/or partnership which “enables the Group to
maintain control of key intellectual property”. It follows that the impact of the opposition - should it be
successful – on the company’s value may be low.
