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Junior Inventor Awards 2011 Launched

The Patents Office today [Tuesday] launched the Junior Inventor Awards

2011. The Awards, which is now in its 4th year, seeks to encourage primary

school children to demonstrate their creativity and inventiveness, and

hopefully sow the seeds of interest in the sciences and engineering at an

early age.

Entries can include any idea for an invention that solves an everyday

problem for example the GPS system in cars or the dishwasher - ideas that

makes life better or easier.

The competition was originally launched by the Patents Office to mark its

contribution to World Intellectual Property Day, which falls on the 26th

April every year.

This year’s competition is divided into two class categories with one

overall winner who will be presented with the Junior Inventor Award 2011.

The categories are: -

o First Class to Third Class

o Fourth Class to Sixth Class

Prizes will be awarded in each category and the first placed winners in

each category will also receive a prize for their schools.

Launching the competition, Eamonn Laird, Controller of Patents, Designs and

Trademarks, said: ‘The Junior Inventor Awards has proved very popular with

Primary School teachers and pupils and has gone from strength to strength

since its inception. The level of creativity and inventiveness of the

children never ceases to amaze me and that is certainly encouraging for the

future of innovation in Ireland. I would urge all Primary School teachers

to enter their pupils in this exciting and challenging competition.’

The closing date for entries is Friday 15th April 2011 at 5.00pm and the

address to send entries is: Junior Inventor 2011, Patents Office,

Government Buildings, Hebron Road, Kilkenny. The winners will be announced

at a presentation ceremony in Kilkenny on Monday 16th May 2011.

All Primary Schools should receive notification of the competition in the

post and details are also available on the Patents Office website at

http://www.patentsoffice.ie./Links to external website

ENDS

For further information please contact:

The Information Centre, Patents Office, 056 7720111, Lo Call 1890 220223 or

patlib@patentsoffice.ie

Press Office, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, 01 – 631 2200

or press.office@deti.ie

Further information on World Intellectual Property Day can be accessed at

www.wipo.intLinks to external website

About the Patents Office

The central mission of the Patents Office is:

To provide an efficient and effective system of industrial property

protection that will encourage technological progress and promote

enterprise through the implementation by the Office of the relevant

legislation.

This will be achieved through the protection of industrial property rights

in the fields of patents, trade marks and designs, and the dissemination of

relevant information in conjunction with each of these activities.

ENDS

Press Office

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation

Kildare Street, Dublin 2

Ph: 631 2200 Fax: 6312828

www.deti.ie