On Monday, 17 November, Agris Batalauskis, Director of the Latvian Patent Office (LPO), and Ēriks Rēķis, LPO's Deputy Director, Director of the Administrative and Financial Department, met with João Negrão, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), Edyta Demby-Siwek, EUIPO's Deputy Executive Director, and other EUIPO's experts to discuss the current collaboration in the implementation of projects and activities, as well as future cooperation plans.
EUIPO's representatives were informed about the current events and daily processes at the LPO, the LPO's involvement in the implementation of the EUIPO's Strategic Plan 2030 and mutual cooperation projects. During the meeting, it was discussed how to strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the identification and protection of their intellectual property (IP) rights, including by administering the Ideas Powered for business SME Fund; how to improve the user experience of the IP system; and how to raise IP awareness among various target groups and the general public. The further strengthening of collaboration activities with the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights was also discussed.
LPO's Director Agris Batalauskis stressed that the EUIPO is the LPO's essential partner in developing a modern, accessible, and efficient IP ecosystem. A strong IP system and a clear understanding of why it is important to protect one’s IP are essential for promoting the international competitiveness of Latvian companies and, ultimately, for ensuring the sustainable growth of the Latvian economy.
The LPO's delegation had the opportunity to observe how artificial intelligence is used on a daily basis to simplify EUIPO procedures and provide fast, high-quality services, and how such solutions could be transferred in the future to national intellectual property offices, including Latvia.