Intellectual property, a fundamental catalyst for business success
On January 23, the Madrid Chamber of Commerce and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) organized a day on the importance of intellectual property for SMEs. The event, which was held in Madrid, was attended by representatives of the EUIPO, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) and the Single Window for Internationalization of the Community of Madrid (VUI).
During the day, the experts addressed the benefits of intellectual property protection for SMEs, both in the European and African markets. In this sense, they highlighted that intellectual property can be a fundamental catalyst for the success and sustainable growth of companies, since it allows them to:
- Protect your innovations and creations: Intellectual property gives companies exclusive rights to exploit their inventions, brands, designs, etc., allowing them to prevent third parties from copying or using their products or services without their consent.
- Access new markets: The protection of intellectual property can facilitate companies' access to new markets, as it gives confidence to customers and distributors that their products or services are original and of quality.
- Obtaining financing: Intellectual property protection can be a valuable asset for companies when applying for financing, as it provides investors with assurance that companies have valuable intangible assets.
The event also offered information on the subsidies and free services available to SMEs to protect their intellectual property. In this sense, the EUIPO offers a hotline and website with information on intellectual property protection in Africa. For its part, the SPTO offers a business support service that provides personalized advice to SMEs on the protection of their industrial property.
Declarations:
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Andréa Lori, EUIPO Africa project coordinator: "The specific project that we manage is a project financed by the European Commission to support SMEs in the European Union that want to invest in Africa and at the same time want to protect their intellectual property rights. There are three services that we offer, they are all free. A telephone helpline and you can also write by email. We answer questions about intellectual property from European companies that want to invest in the African continent. The second service that we also offer is our web page, where we have a lot of information, materials and resources on intellectual property. On the African continent you can choose the type of country, for example, or the type of intellectual property right that you want to protect and there you can search for information. And the third type of service that is available is organization of events and training For example, today's event, where we offer information and training to companies interested in learning more about intellectual property and Africa."
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Alberto Sarabia Ruiz, head of business support service at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office: "The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, among its functions, promotes the industrial property system both nationally and internationally. This is further motivated by the fact that a very low percentage of Spanish companies, around 11%, have their industrial property rights registered, making it an underutilized system. This system allows companies to secure their market position, guarantee a market niche, and provide a kind of insurance for their investments in innovation. Therefore, we want to be close to companies to help them achieve this. That's why..." OEPM has a business support servicewhich is the point of contact between the government and businesses. What does it aim to do? To facilitate access to information through personalized service, by phone, email, or in-person appointments, and also at trade fairs and conferences to connect with different strategic sectors and facilitate SMEs' access to information. We have lines of aid and subsidies that annually seek to promote the protection not only of patents and utility models at the national level, but also the internationalization of Spanish talent and the export of Spanish technology to other markets.
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Jacobo Pérez-Soba, Manager. Madrid-VUI Single Window for Internationalization: "From the Madrid Regional Government's Single Window for Internationalization, we are supporting this conference on the protection of patents, trademarks, intellectual property, and industrial property, which is so necessary for accessing foreign markets, as an additional tool for competitiveness and, above all, for security. We must show our distributors and international clients that our products and services are registered and fully guaranteed, in this case, by the..." EUIPO Spanish Patent and Trademark Office"especially to access markets as complex as African markets and use it as a competitive tool to be able to sell in these markets that are so difficult to access."
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