Barcelona, Spain, April 29, 2014 – Fractus, S.A. today announced a team of its inventors has been nominated as a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2014 by the European Patent Office (EPO). The nomination, for exceptional inventions in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises, is based upon the team’s innovative development of antenna technology for mobile communications.
Among its more than 150 patents and patent applications, Fractus was granted the world’s first patent for Multilevel Antenna technology (European patent EP1223637) and Space-filling Antenna technology (EP1258054) in 2005, and patent for Dual-band Dual-polarized Antenna Arrays (EP1380069) in 2007. The EPO nomination is based upon these three innovations, developed by Drs. Carles Puente Baliarda, Carmen Borja Borau, Jaume Anguera Pros, Jordi Soler Castany and Edouard Rozan.
“We’re honoured to be acknowledged by the EPO,” said Dr. Puente Baliarda, co-founder and Chief Scientist at Fractus. ”Our team is proud of the success of our technology which has been adopted by the vast majority of cellphones and smartphones worldwide. If, as the EPO states, our efforts help ‘improve people’s daily lives,’ then we feel doubly rewarded in our work.”
Internal multilevel and space-filling antenna technology created by Fractus are important components in cell phones, tablets, laptops, navigation devices and other wireless portable devices, allowing the development of smaller handsets and the capability to accommodate the latest multimedia features and to the high speed internet connectivity. These innovations have been licensed by Fractus to cell phone manufacturers including companies such as LG, HTC and Motorola. “At a time when a multitude of players in consumer electronics is laying claim to valuable wireless technologies, it is gratifying to be recognized as an innovator in the industry by a leader in the global patent system,” said Rubén Bonet, President and CEO of Fractus.
The European Inventor was launched by the EPO in 2006 as the first ever European prize to distinguish inventors who have made an outstanding contribution to innovation, economy and society. The Award has become one of the most popular and prestigious distinctions for inventors worldwide. For 2014, a jury comprising internationally renowned figures from politics, business and academia has nominated 15 outstanding inventions in five categories. The winners of this prestigious prize will be announced on 17 June 2014 in Berlin, at a ceremony to be opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
More information about the European Inventor Award is available at http://www.epo.org/learning-events/european-inventor/about.html.
For more about Fractus S.A. and its patented technology visit https://www.fractus.com/index.php/fractus/patents/.
About Fractus
Fractus is an early pioneer in developing internal antennas for cellular phones, tablets and other devices. In 1995, Fractus CTO Dr. Carles Puente filed the world’s first application for a patent on fractal antennas for mobile telecommunications. Four years later, in 1999, Fractus was born. The company set out to meet the challenge of delivering antennas small enough to fit inside a cell phone yet powerful enough to support today’s multiband phones. Today, Fractus holds an intellectual property rights portfolio of more than 50 inventions protected through over 150 patents and patent applications in the United States, Europe and Asia, and has shipped more than 35 million antennas worldwide. Among the numerous awards and honors the company has received for its innovative work, Fractus was named a 2005 Davos World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and one of Red Herring’s top innovative companies for 2006. It also won the 2004 Frost & Sullivan Award for technological innovation and the 2010 National Communication Award of the Catalan Government in the telecommunications category. A team of Fractus inventors is a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2014; award winners are to be announced in June 2014.
