WIPO SMEs Newsletter February 2012

 

By the SMEs Section of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

WIPO SMEs Newsletter is a monthly e-publication providing readers with useful intellectual property (IP) information contained in articles, case studies, forthcoming IP/SMEs relevant events, and published presentations featured on our web site. We hope you will find it useful and informative. We encourage you to share the newsletter or items of interest with friends and colleagues. For past issues and information on the activities of the SMEs Section, please visit http://www.wipo.int/sme. 
 

NEWS

New WIPO Director responsible for SMEs 

On February 1, 2012, Mr. Matthew Rainey became Director of WIPO’s new Innovation Division, which has responsibility for SMEs as well as innovation and technology transfer, within WIPO’s Innovation and Technology Sector. Mr. Rainey, a national of the United States of America, comes to WIPO with almost 30 years’ experience in intellectual property law and patent-related public policy, having previously worked for a number of companies and law firms in the U.S. and internationally. 
 

IP Filings Worldwide Rebound in 2010 Despite Economic Turmoil  

A new report recently published by WIPO shows that intellectual property (IP) filings worldwide rebounded strongly in 2010 after a considerable decline in 2009. The recovery in IP filings was stronger than the overall economic recovery. Patent and trademark filings grew by 7.2% and 11.8% respectively in 2010 compared to growth of 5.1% in the global gross domestic product (GDP), with China and the United States (US) accounting for the greatest share of the increased filings. The 7.2% growth in patent applications in 2010 - the highest growth rate in five years - followed a 3.6% decline in 2009. The total number of 1.98 million patent applications worldwide was an all time high. Similarly, trademark filings rose by 11.8% in 2010 to reach 3.66 million– another all time high – having fallen by 2.6% in 2009.
 

WIPO Welcomes Australian Donation to Support IP Capacity-Building Projects 

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry has welcomed an Australian donation of AUD 2 million for projects to help developing and least developed countries (LDCs) build capacity in the field of intellectual property (IP) and ensure they were in a position to actively participate in the benefits of innovation and the knowledge economy. Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Trade Minister Craig Emerson announced the contribution, at the recent ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. The AUD 2 million donation is part of an AUD 16 million contribution announced at the 8th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference to help developing and least developed countries benefit through global trade.
 

wipo green - The Sustainable Technology Marketplace 

“wipo green” is a technology marketplace for green technologies with the objective of accelerating the adaptation, adoption and deployment of “green” technologies, particularly in developing countries and emerging economies. It comprises a database where technology companies and others can upload technologies for sale, licensing and technology transfer. In the near term, we will be developing a partnership hub and supporting services to facilitate sales, joint ventures, collaborations and other forms of technology transfer.
You are welcome to upload green technologies and request needs to the database. You can create your account and log in to the wipo green database. There is no fee. A pilot version is available at www.wipo.int/green .
For further information, please contact the Global Challenges Division at WIPO via wipo.green@wipo.int or Tel.: +41 (0)22 3389500.
 

Translated Version of the WIPO ITC guide, “Exchanging Value - Negotiating Technology Licensing Agreements - A Training Manual” from the Republic of Serbia  

The IP Office of the Republic of Serbia with the support of WIPO published the translated version. 
 

Translated Version of the WIPO ITC guide, “Exchanging Value - Negotiating Technology Licensing Agreements - A Training Manual” from the Slovak Republic  

The IP Office of the Slovak Republic with the support of WIPO published the translated version. 
 

Lithuanian Nationally Customized Version of the IP for Business Publication Inventing the Future Published 

The State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania published the customized version of the WIPO publication entitled, “ Inventing the Future”. 
 

Belarusian Customized Versions of the three IP for Business guides Published 

The National Center of IP (NCIP), Minsk with the support of WIPO published the three guides entitled, “ Making a Mark”, “ Looking Good” and “ Inventing the Future”. 
 

Sri Lankan Customized Versions of the three IP for Business guides Published in Sinhalese and Tamil 

The National IP Office of Sri Lanka with the support of WIPO published the three guides entitled, “Looking Good” (Sinhalese version, Tamil version), “Inventing the Future” (Sinhalese version, Tamil version) and “Creative Expression” (Sinhalese version, Tamil version).
 

Latvian Translated Version of the WIPO ICC guide Published 

The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the support of WIPO published the Latvian translation of the WIPO ICC guide entitled, “Making IP Work for Business”. The English version can be viewed on the SMEs Website. 
 

Tajikistan Translated Version of the four WIPO IP for Business guides ICC guide Published 

The National Center for Patents and Information, Dushanbe with WIPO’s assistance published the translated versions of “ Making a Mark”, “ Looking Good”, “ Inventing the Future” and “ Creative Expression”. 
 

Training/Learning Resources on IP Asset Management

General Information on Training of Trainers Program, the SMEs Division, WIPO 

The SMEs Section of WIPO supports the organization of national Training of Trainers (TOT) Programs in countries that have translated and/or adapted the basic materials on IP for Business published by the Section. The objective of the TOTs is to create a critical mass of trainers in the country with enough knowledge and skills to provide assistance to SMEs on effective IP asset management at a basic level. For more details, please see here.
 

IP PANORAMA TM Multimedia Toolkit 

The IP PANORAMA ™ multimedia toolkit is now available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Hungarian, Vietnamese and Thai versions on or through the pages at http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/multimedia/ and http://www.ippanorama.com/. CD-ROMs of the English, Arabic, French and Spanish versions are also available on request. Anyone interested in receiving a free copy of the CD-ROM may email sme@wipo.int , providing the full postal address, including telephone number, and indicate the purpose for which the CD-ROM would be used.
 

Get the Latest Information about Training offered by the European Patent Academy in 2012!  

Keep up to date with the European Patent Academy's training offers via our new e-mail alert service. The EPO Academy invites you to subscribe nowand simply select the target groups relevant for you. See http://www.epo.org/service-support/contact-us/newsletter/subscribe.html
The patent event search area makes it easy for you to find information about patent-related events in Europe: www.epo.org/event-search
http://www.epo.org/learning-events/events/search.html           
 

LINKS

Seven Sins— Intellectual Property Mistakes Start-Up Technology Companies Should Avoid 

The start-up company often is an exciting and fast moving entity. However, without attention to detail involving intellectual property encompassed within the company product and/or service, the time, effort and sweat equity invested in getting that product and/or service to market can slow down, or even halt, company growth. This article looks at seven intellectual property mistakes start-up companies make and tips to navigate and address the issues to help ensure a solid foundation for long term growth.
 

Benchmarking National and Regional Support Services for SMEs in the Field of Intellectual and Industrial Property 

This study, which was commissioned by the European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industry as part of its PRO INNO activities, aims to identify, analyze, classify and benchmark support services for SMEs in the area of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as provided in the EU-27, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Turkey and in a number of non-European countries (USA, Canada, Japan, and Australia). The study is based on a comparative benchmarking analysis focused on the efficiency and effectiveness of public-funded support services aiming at assisting SMEs on IPR issues.
 

Australia : New Register Affects Security Interests in IP 

Companies and individuals that own security interests in intellectual property should be aware that the Personal Property Securities Register became live on 30 January 2012 in Australia, ushering in the reforms implemented by the Personal Property Securities Act 2009.
 

When Marketing Through Social Media, Legal Risks Can Go Viral 

Social networking sites can be effective platforms for advertising and marketing endeavors. Increasingly, marketers are using such sites as a vehicle to spread the word about a product or service through advertisements, promotions and other means. But marketing campaigns utilizing social networking sites unavoidably involve various third parties – including consumers, the social media outlets, marketing affiliates and potentially other third parties. Marketers must be aware of the legal issues raised by the involvement of these parties.
 

Emerging Life Sciences Companies 

This paper emphasizes the importance of the “Freedom to Operate” analysis, especially for emerging companies before they start to do a new business.
 

The MIT Inventor’s Guide to Startups 

A startup is a new business venture in its earliest stage of development. This guide to startups is focused specifically on technology-based companies formed to commercialize one or more related inventions made at MIT and protected via intellectual property rights (i.e. patent or copyright) owned by MIT.
 

SME Tailor-designed Patent Portfolio Analysis 

The management of patents is acknowledged to be closely correlated to a company’s profits. Thus, evaluation of patent portfolios is an essential task for companies producing or depending on technology-related products. The Innovation and Patent-Centre at the Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg, a German think tank for patent management, has now developed a tool specially suited for SMEs. The article describes the methodology of the tool and compares it to other state-of-the-art tools. Field tests carried out with SMEs in different industry sectors and with varying patent portfolio sizes and structures have shown good results.
 

The Impact of the Patent System on SMEs 

This paper published by Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge in UK considers the theory and evidence on the propensity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to patent their innovations. Drawing on UK, European and US literature and data sources, it shows that small firms are less likely to use patents as a means of protecting their investment than other means such as confidentiality, secrecy or time to market. Conversely, smaller firms are more likely than larger firms to put their patents to productive use or to license out their technology, a pattern that is likely to reflect relatively higher cost and capacity pressures. 
 

Forthcoming Events

WIPO Executive Program: Strategic Intellectual Property Management, Santiago, Chile, March 14 to 16, 2012 

The Academy of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is offering its Executive Program, “Strategic Intellectual Property Management”, in Santiago, Chile, from March 14 to 16, 2012. This is a three-day intensive training program which targets executives and managers involved in R&D. This program will be held in English, and its registration fee is US$ 2,000. A 40% discount is made available to participants from developing countries. The deadline for the applications is March 6, 2012. Further information, including the program, brochure, registration form and the list of States, is available on the  website of WIPO Executive Program.
 

ip4inno Virtual Classroom Lessons (VCLs) from the EPO  

The European Patent Office (EPO) is offering four free ip4inno VCLs over the internet starting next month as a prelude to four 2-day workshops later in the year. These interactive internet tutorials introduce just a taster from the twenty-one modules which cover much more than simply "how to register rights", but rather discuss the business context in which IP can be commercialised. Other modules on IP licensing, valuation, financing and enforcement provide a complete picture of the role IP plays in protecting and encouraging innovation. For more information on our VCLs, and to register, please go to the homepage: ip4inno homepage .
 

NOTE

The SMEs Section welcomes voluntary contributions of articles, case studies, news items, useful links and relevant information concerning forthcoming events of interest to entrepreneurs and SMEs for inclusion in future issues of this newsletter; contributions may be sent by email to sme@wipo.int.
 
If you have received this newsletter from someone and would like to subscribe yourself, then simply send an e-mail to sme@wipo.int with "subscribe" as the subject, and indicate your language preference (English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese or Russian).
 
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The past issues of this newsletter, since August 2001, may be accessed here.
 
Copyright (c) 2012 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 34, chemin des Colombettes, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland

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