On Thursday, 5 February, the Latvian Patent Office (LPO) hosted a technical visit from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), during which the LPO and the EUIPO presented the activities implemented over the past six months as well as the plans for this year. The LPO received high praise for the contribution to the activities of the European Intellectual Property Network.
At the meeting, the EUIPO provided information on the new system of geographical indications for craft and industrial products, which entered into force across the European Union on 1 December 2025. So far, several dozen applications have been received from Member States, and manufacturers have been very actively submitting questions regarding the protection of their products. The EUIPO delegation expressed its gratitude to LPO’s experts for their significant involvement in improving the system.
EUIPO representatives highly appreciated the participation of LPO staff in the EUIPO's Virtual Communities initiative, which was launched in 2025. The aim of the initiative is to bring together experts from national intellectual property (IP) offices across Europe to improve, through the exchange of experiences and discussions, various IP areas ranging from geographical indications and services to digital solutions for enhancing user experiences.
Introducing the activities carried out over the past year to strengthen IP awareness, A. Batalauskis noted that the LPO strives to cooperate as much as possible with other institutions and organisations, thereby achieving better results and reaching more diverse target groups.
“We are pleased with the results of 2025 — a purposeful work has allowed us to implement several important initiatives and to continue improving and developing the IP system. It is also encouraging that IP awareness is gradually increasing among the general public, which shows that IP protection is increasingly becoming a natural and essential part of business and creative activities,” said the LPO Director.
Further in his speech, A. Batalauskis highlighted the importance of the support fund for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME Fund), Ideas Powered for Business, administered by the EUIPO, which has become a success story in the field of IP in Latvia and attracted a significant number of applications for co-financing in the previous year.
The EUIPO delegation welcomed the LPO's contribution to the implementation of joint projects, achievements in registering industrial property and in the implementation of the SME Fund. Director of the EUIPO Cooperation and Partnerships Department Sandris Laganovskis expressed a positive assessment of the LPO's performance indicators and contribution to strengthening the IP system.
A number of issues addressed during the visit were related to the progress in the development of IT systems. Both the LPO and the EUIPO's delegation exchanged information on the progress and next steps, as well as shared experiences on challenges in this area and their possible solutions.
The LPO was represented by Director Agris Batalauskis; Deputy Director and Director of the Administrative and Finance Department Ēriks Rēķis; Head of the Technical Support Division Māra Vilciņa; Director of the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Department Ieva Paula Drekslere; Senior Expert of the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Department Karīna Trifonova; Director of the Development and International Cooperation Department Ilze Grava; Project Manager Katrīna Gulbe; and Head of Public Relations Ella Niedra.
The EUIPO delegation included Director of the Cooperation and Partnerships Department Sandris Laganovskis; representatives of the European Cooperation area Olivier Galaup, Rossana Cheri, Amandine Montredon, and Anna Dachowska; Country Coordinator Aleksandr Maksimenkov; and Seconded Project Manager Valters Andersons.