WIPO-MOST Co-Host Meeting On the Use Of Intellectual Property For Business Development
Geneva, November 18, 2003
Press Updates UPD/2003/210
Practical aspects of using intellectual property for business development was the focus of a week-long training course hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), in Geneva from November 10 to 14, 2003. The training course provided a platform for participants to acquire important practical insights into how the IP system may be used to business advantage. It also offered an opportunity for fruitful exchange of information, ideas and experiences in using intellectual property as a strategic business tool to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. The participants included policy makers working in the field of enterprise development and representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and SME support institutions.
The event was organized within the framework of WIPO's drive to empower SMEs to make more effective use of the IP system to identify, develop, protect and manage the knowledge and IP assets they create and own. SMEs are a highly dynamic and economically important sector contributing more than 90% of the gross national product (GNP) of many countries. This is the second training program co-organized by WIPO's SMEs Division and MOST. Additional training courses are envisaged in 2004 to further strengthen local capacity to disseminate information about the role and use of IP by SMEs.
In her opening remarks, Mrs. Rita Hayes, WIPO Deputy Director General, underlined the importance of maintaining a strategic dialogue with member states in order to refine the intellectual property system as a powerful tool not only for economic development but also for social well-being.
The head of the Chinese delegation, Mr. Zhongduo Li, Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of Guangdong Province, underlined his Government's commitment to promoting intellectual property protection in China. He stressed the importance of WIPO's cooperation in organizing such training courses, which he said were key to fostering more effective use of the intellectual property system by SMEs in China.
The week-long self-financed intermediate training course was designed to meet the specific needs of 17 Chinese participants with a basic knowledge of the IP system. The program included a series of practical exercises to promote more effective use of patent information and to improve understanding of the ways in which patent information may be used to strategic business advantage. Intellectual property information is an invaluable resource enabling companies to monitor competitors' research activities, keep abreast of emerging technological trends, and identify key players, potential business partnerships and licensing opportunities. Other business-oriented topics included ownership of IP assets, IP and export, licensing and valuation of IP assets as well as the role of IP in raising finance. General IP topics covering trademarks, copyright, IP and domain names and IP enforcement were also covered. The presentations are available at the website of the SMEs Division at www.wipo.int/sme.
For more information and material on IP for SMEs, visit the web site of the SMEs Division of WIPO and subscribe to the free monthly e-newsletter of the SMEs Division or contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:
- Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 or (+41 22) 338 95 47;
- E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int
- Fax: (+41 22) 338 88 10.