The Rudolf Diesel Medal, Europe’s oldest innovation prize, has been awarded since 1953 in memory of the innovator Rudolf Diesel for commercially successful, entrepreneurial innovation achievements. The award honours entrepreneurial personalities and companies who have demonstrated both their inventive spirit and their ability to successfully implement ideas in business. That way the prize connects the business perspective with the technological and intellectual property perspective, which is critical for long lasting economic success. The award ceremony is reflecting this idea by bringing business decision makers from the industry and innovation and IP experts literally on the same table.

The winners of the 2024 Rudolf Diesel Medals (from left to right) are Camilo Dürr (standing in for his grandfather Dr h.c. Heinz Dürr, Dürr AG), Univ.-Prof. Dr Marion A. Weissenberger-Eibl (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI), Dr Sibylle Anderl (ZEIT and “Space Night Science”, ARD alpha) and Udo Schütz (Schütz GmbH & Co. KGaA).

About the award winners

Prof. Dr Marion A. Weissenberger-Eibl heads the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research and is the Chair of Innovation and Technology Management (iTM) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. She is recognised as a leading expert in the fields of innovation management, technology and knowledge management and actively promotes cooperation between science and industry.

With a doctorate in astronomy/astrophysics on shock waves in the interstellar medium, Dr Sibylle Anderl worked on interferometry – probably the most complex data analysis method in astrophysics. As presenter of “Space Night News” and “Space Night Science” on ARD alpha, with publication of several specialised books on the subject of astrophysics, as co-editor of the cultural magazine “Kursbuch” and as a sought-after interview partner in radio formats and podcasts, Dr Sibylle Anderl stands for fact-based and education-oriented media communication.

SCHÜTZ GmbH & Co. KGAA is a leading technology company in plastics and metal processing. Udo Schütz founded the company in 1958 and revolutionised the packaging industry with the development of the Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC). The IBC offers 25 per cent greater transport efficiency compared to conventional solutions and is now an indispensable logistics tool worldwide.

Under the leadership of Dr h.c. Heinz Dürr, Dürr AG developed from a family business from 1957 to 1980 into a globally active mechanical and plant engineering group. Thanks to Dürr’s instinct for market needs and technological change, Dürr AG has played a pioneering role in shaping the paint and automotive industry to this day.

From the event

Leading business representatives from the German industry took part in the event, who are organized in the Rudolf Diesel Kuratorium, which decides on the Rudolf Diesel Medal winners. They comprise around sixty CTOs from world leading, medium-sized technology companies, which together employ half a million people and generate sales of over 125 billion euros. Additionally, intellectual property and innovation specialists were invited to the event, so that lively discussions and information exchange was possible at the tables. Here are some impressions from the discussions with our invited guests and the red carpet.

Roland Kraml is Strategic Consultant at ABP Patent Network, which are developing innovative IP software such as patentbutler.ai. Patentbutler is an AI tool developed with IBM, which can support IP professionals during the innovation process in various ways and save resources, so that the experts can focus on their individual contributions. It does not only save time, but also enables higher precision of patent analysis and identification of relevant publications. Here is a case study presented in the MIPLM at the CEIPI about its use.

Stefan Müller is partner at 2SPL PartG mbB since 2012 and an expert for the protection of digital solutions in Europe. Before becoming a patent attorney, he studied physics and gained practical experience in the semiconductor industry. He is specifically interested is supporting clients with the optimization of their patent claims and scope of digital patents in Europe. Here you can watch in interview with him on that topic.

Dr. Laura Fè is the Head of the Munich Office of Murgitroyd and an expert in protecting inventions in the chemical industry. Within this area she is especially focused on the protection of digital inventions, such as inventions created with the help of generative AI. Here you can find an article and interview with her on that topic.

Stefan Brehm is the founder and CEO of predori, a company offering AI based patent search tools. He puts a very high emphasis on the aspect of transparency in patent searches to give the user the best and most valuable information with the power of AI. Additionally, he is active as a committee chair for patent information at I3PM. Please read this interview on his thoughts on patent searches.

Dr. Malte Köllner is partner at Köllner & Partner mbB, Patent Attorneys and a German and European Patent Attorney, Trademark and Design Attorney. He co-initiated the worldwide DABUS project to clarify the patentability of inventions generated by artificial intelligence. In this interview he explained the motivation behind the project and the most recent developments.

Christian Barske is a German & European Patent Attorney and managing partner at KRAMER BARSKE SCHMIDTCHEN Patentanwälte PartG mbB. He is an expert on the targeted generation of IP portfolios for technology companies and supports firms in the generation of IP.