On Tuesday, December 13, a presentation of the results of the study "Understanding of industrial property rights" carried out this summer by the Patent Office and the public opinion research centre SKDS, as well as an opening of the Latvian adaptation of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s manual for start-ups "Enterprising Ideas" took place.
Opening the event, Deputy Director of the Patent Office Eriks Rēķis stressed: "In Europe, only 10% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have protected their intellectual property (IP), and this is due to the fact that SMEs are simply not informed about how to best profit from their intellectual assets or where to look for help to develop their IP strategies. On the other hand, those who have registered their IP almost unanimously admit that it contributed to the increase in the company's value, improved its reputation, and provided for greater legal certainty."
SKDS Executive Director Arnis Kaktiņš gave an overview of the results of the study. Having surveyed almost three thousand respondents in different Latvian regions, it can be concluded that Latvian entrepreneurs’ understanding of industrial property protection and its link with business development is low. Only 7% of entrepreneurs surveyed consider their knowledge of industrial property protection as good, 22% - as average, and almost half (46%) - as poor. Most active in registering industrial property are big companies, foreign direct investment companies and joint ventures. However, most respondents believe that registered industrial property rights increase the value of the company, improve its reputation, reduce the possibility of copying/stealing your idea by competitors, and help attract investment.
Arnis Kaktiņš pointed out that entrepreneurs’ satisfaction with the quality of services provided by the Patent Office has grown significantly over the past three years. More than 70% of the respondents appreciate the speed and clarity of processing application filings, and also the fees.
20% of respondents know or at least have heard something about “The Ideas Powered for Business” SME Fund. According to Kaktiņš, this is a good indicator, because the fund was created relatively recently, and it is not easy for today's entrepreneurs to notice and evaluate new initiatives in the situation of information overload.
Deputy Director of the Patent Office Ēriks Rēķis, SKDS Executive Director Arnis Kaktiņš, Deputy Director of the Department of Entrepreneurship Competitiveness of the Ministry of Economy Mārtiņš Jansons, Board Member of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jānis Lielpēteris discussed the role of IP rights in Latvian entrepreneurship. The participants of the discussion acknowledged that IP awareness should be raised among young people already at school, so that in the future they would take it for granted starting up their businesses. It is useful to create a single information platform where entrepreneurs could get all the necessary information about the State and EU support and IP commercialisation.
The speakers also emphasized that the best way to understand the benefits of IP registration is through the exchange of ideas and experiences between entrepreneurs; that is why it is crucial to ensure the possibility of such a dialogue.
In order to increase IP awareness among nascent entrepreneurs, the material developed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was made avallable in Latvian. The manual was translated and adapted by a limited liability company Skrivanek Baltic in cooperation with the President of the Association of Patent Attorneys of Latvia Jevgēnijs Fortūna and the Patent Office.
Presenting the adapted material, Fortūna noted that the manual is well written and the topics are presented in a concise manner and are easy to understand. The book contains useful information for start-ups, such as IP protection, commercialisation and available financial support. The manual also includes the inspiring success stories of five Latvian companies.
Jānis Ošlejs, the founder of limited liability company (LLC) Primekss Group, Solvita Kostjukova, the founder of LLC Alina, and Jevgēnijs Fortūna, a professional patent attorney, participated in the discussion on Intellectual Property and Start-ups. The main conclusions of the discussion – patent registration provides for legal certainty in relations with partners/competitors; it facilitates the attraction of investors; it significantly increases the value of the company.
To access the Latvian adaptation of the WIPO IP guide for start-ups, please click here.
To access the English version of the WIPO IP guide for start-ups, please click here.