On Tuesday, 10 June, an international conference was held, where the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) presented the intellectual property (IP) system in Latvia and provided recommendations for its improvement in the technical support project on Building a more effective and efficient market surveillance and intellectual property system for Latvia.
The project was launched in October 2023, with the involvement of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support and the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia (LPO).
The aim of the project regarding the field of IP is to provide support to Latvia to improve the IP ecosystem, strengthen the use of IP, stimulate innovation, and boost the competitiveness of businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
During the first phase, visits and remote meetings were organized with representatives of the LPO, the Ministry of Economics, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Justice, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, the State Police, the SRS National Customs Board, the Prosecution Office of the Republic of Latvia, universities, entrepreneurs, NGOs, and others. During these visits, the Latvian PI system was studied and analysed. During the second phase, the proposals were prepared in consultation with the parties involved in the implementation of the project. The proposals were presented at the project's closing conference, which also included a discussion between the participants.
Opening the conference, Agris Batalauskis, Director of the Patent Office, emphasized the importance of IP in every sector of the national economy and its impact on the national economy as a whole, being a driving force for promoting innovation and economic growth. In Latvia, one of the challenges is unawareness of the value of IP, and this can be overcome by building bridges between state institutions, thus empowering the IP system. "The role of IP in promoting innovation continues to grow, therefore it is essential to raise IP awareness among entrepreneurs, researchers and public authorities, including scientific institutions. Promoting this awareness is key for using the full potential of IP in both business and research," emphasized A. Batalauskis.
Assessing the intellectual property system, the OECD identified ten areas for improvements, including linking innovation with IP, commercialization of IP, prevention of IP infringement, operational capacity, development of professional competencies in the IP field.
Following the conference and discussion on the proposals, the OECD will prepare a final version of the report.