Ekobot has received a notice of Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office (EPO), indicating that the company's patent application for the mechanical tool system will be approved.
The communication from the European Patent Office means that there are now only administrative steps remaining to proceed with the formal approval of the patent. The patent applies to the application that the company communicated on June 11, 2021, and covers the company's tool system for autonomous weed control. The granted application includes all original patent claims.
Ekobot has previously been granted a patent from the European Patent Office. This patent covers the method itself, including the algorithms and software for controlling the tool system covered by the above patent. This means that Ekobot now has its core technology with the intelligent tool system for automated mechanical weed control protected by patents. A system that replaces both environmentally harmful pesticides and manual labor for weed control. The patents cover both the mechanical tool system for weed control and the algorithms and system that control this weed tool.
– Ekobot works with innovative system and product development at a world-leading level. We also have a clear strategy to continuously strengthen our intellectual property protection around our technology, so it's pleasing that a central patent application now being fully granted, says the company's CEO, Jonas Eklind.
Ekobot's intelligent weed management tool system has been in operation in commercial farms in Sweden and the Netherlands since the spring of 2022. Ahead of the 2024 growing season, Ekobot will deliver systems to key customers and distributors primarily in Sweden and the Netherlands.
