Members
Icon Enforcement Best Practices
bigger text
smaller text

INNOVATION

Easy IPR Access (FI)

Title of case

Providing Easy Access: the integration of assistance for IP management and enforcement with general business support

Organisations

The Finnish National Board of Patents and Registration

The Foundation for Finnish Inventions

TEKES, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation

The T&E Centres (Employment & Economic Development Centres)

IPR Expert Group Recommendation

Support service provision should be co-ordinated nationally, with local access to IPR information, advice and IP management training being provided by the established business support organisations, in close co-operation with specialist IP agencies.

Areas that the case illustrates

  • Broadly-based access to IPR support for SMEs
  • Integration with specialist IP information and advice
  • Integration with innovation support

The Finnish services relate to:

  • Patents
  • Utility models
  • Trademarks
  • Designs
  • Copyright

Brief description

Like most other countries, Finland has a range of business support agencies, each with differing functions but all of them aiming to support SMEs in their business development. The IPR Expert Group has emphasised the need to provide access to specialist IPR services through locally available support organisations.

Finland has taken steps to ensure the effective integration of all forms of business support and this approach has been applied to the provision of support for Intellectual Property management and enforcement. Key to this has been the co-ordination of the services of specialised IP agencies with those of the T&E Centres (Employment & Economic Development Centres), which are the first-line support agencies for enterprises located across the country.

Full description

Finland's T&E Centres provide a regional framework for business support. They were created by bringing together in 15 regional centres the previously separate services of a number of ministries (Trade and Industry, Labour, Agriculture and Forestry) with the explicit intention of providing a regional One-stop-shop.

T&E Centres are tasked with the promotion of business, employment and rural vitality within their region, through the provision of advisory, training, development and financing services. Their Business and Entrepreneurship sections provide local access to a wide range of services for enterprises at various stages of their development, with low-cost and practical tools and various company-specific development programmes enabling companies to enhance their competitiveness. T&E Centres also provide training programmes covering a variety of subjects.

An example of type of service package provided is TuoteStart: a Programme for the development of product and service ideas. This service helps entrepreneurs to refine new and early-stage product and service ideas, launch product development projects and carry through ideas and innovations into commercial products and a profitable business. TuoteStart is available for SMEs in a range of industries and at various stages of their development and consists of a consultancy programme tailored to the customer’s needs of 1–4 days duration - depending on the project's nature and requirements.

Through the T&E Centres, enterprises and potential entrepreneurs are then able to access more specialised services in ways that are described in the following sections.

Integration with Innovation Programmes

Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, is the main government organisation for research and technological development in Finland. It especially promotes innovative, risk-intensive projects and channels funding and expert services to research, development and innovation projects run by companies, research institutes, and universities.

Tekes employs 290 people centrally and a further 80 technology development experts in the regional T&E Centres. Each year, Tekes has some 3000 company clients and 50 universities, higher education institutions and research centres.

Strategic priorities are established in key centres for science, technology and innovation and through Tekes National Programmes, which provide a process for creating nationally significant innovation action lines and co-ordinating the large group of actors that are involved in delivering them.

National Programmes consist of research and development projects and other activities in enterprises and research organisations that promote the development of business competence, networking, regional impact, internationalisation and the dissemination of results especially to SMEs. The development and management of intellectual property, together with the enforcement of IPRs represent significant elements within the overall innovation strategy.

Integration of IP Support

As well as providing the traditional registration services for patents, utility models, trademarks and registered designs and the related information and advice services, the National Board of Patents and Registration in Finland (NBPRF), also provides various support services to innovators, especially (although not exclusively at a regional level) through the T&E Centres. These, in turn offer local access to patent-related information material and initial advice and the forms, price lists and brochures of the NBPRF.

The Foundation for Finnish Inventions acts as a particular focus for the development of IPR. It is a private foundation - with funding from the Ministry of Employment and Economy - that gives support and advice to inventors: private individuals, university researchers and micro companies. The evaluation of inventions and advice on their protection are a core part of the support provided, along with guidance on product development and marketing, including the building and testing of prototypes, and access to funds, both directly from the Foundation and from third parties. Services cover a wide range of registrable IPR (patents, trademarks, designs), non-registrable IPR (e.g., copyright) and the appropriate strategies for protecting intellectual assets. Where appropriate, legal assistance is provided with licensing arrangements and there is access to the services of patent attorneys.

The activities of the Foundation are confidential, and the services are free of charge.

The NBPRF, the Foundation and the T&E Centres co-operate to employ ‘innovation agents’ who work in each of the regional T&E Centres to promote innovation and the technical and commercial exploitation of inventions. They provide advice to inventors on patenting and industrial property management, applying for funding and the marketing of products. These agencies also work with universities and with higher education, again with innovation agents placed in these institutions, promoting innovation and the technical and commercial exploitation of inventions - in this case, arising from academic research. Again advice on patenting and industrial property management form part of the support provided and this increasingly includes legal advice on contractual matters and enforcement.

Overall then, it can be seen that the Finnish support agencies achieve an exemplary balance in the provision of specialised advice and support that is at the same time accessible on a broad basis across the country through general business support agencies. Furthermore support on IPR matters is well integrated into the support of innovation, presenting a coherent and co-ordinated service for existing and potential enterprises.

Transferability & Performance

The principles illustrated by this case study concerning the effective integration of all forms of business support are clear and straightforward; the actual application, however, very much depends on the institutional circumstances of each country. It is particularly important, then, that there is effective monitoring of progress with integration plans and rigorous evaluation.

An evaluation culture is evident in all of the organisations referred to in this case study and a formal evaluation of the performance and effectiveness of the Foundation for Finnish Inventions’ Network of Invention was conducted by consultants for the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2006. This commended the Foundation's advice and evaluation services, but recommended further integration with other service providers in order to cover the range of innovation support needed by enterprises.

Further information

Web site:



Intellectual Asset Management by IAC (UK)

Title of case

The development of Intellectual Asset Management by the Scottish Intellectual Asset Centre

Organisation

The Intellectual Asset Centre (IAC), Scotland

IPR Expert Group Recommendations

IPR support services should all be based on the principles of Intellectual Asset Management (IAM);

Intellectual Asset Management has to be a core part of the promotion of innovation. Innovation agencies and innovation support programmes have to make effective provision for IPR enforcement.

Areas that the case illustrates

  • SME competence building
  • Intellectual asset management
  • Integration with innovation support
  • Integration with general business support

The IAC s services relate to:

  • Intellectual Assets
  • Trade Secrets,
  • Licensing & Confidentiality Agreements
  • All forms of Intellectual Property

Brief description

Fundamental to the approach of the IPR Enforcement Expert Group has been the proposition that effective enforcement begins with good intellectual property management.

Furthermore, the Expert Group has emphasised that the best IPR support makes use of the competence building approach that is generally considered best practice for business support agencies. Rather than simply addressing the immediate problem, support agencies try to help enterprises develop their general business management capabilities as a way of avoiding future problems or, at least, being in a better position to address them. In the context of IPR enforcement, this approach is taken to mean the promotion of intellectual asset management.

Full description

The Intellectual Assets Centre (IAC) was created by the Scottish Executive in 2003, with the support of the two main economic development bodies in Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The aim was to have a focal point for the promotion of the systematic management of ideas and expertise within Scottish businesses, since the identification and development of ‘intellectual assets’ were seen to be critical to the performance of enterprises in a modern knowledge economy. The Centre therefore has a special place within the broader promotion of innovation in the Scottish economy.

Intellectual assets include the legally recognised forms of intellectual property - patents, trademarks, copyright etc. - but also a wider group of intangible assets owned by an enterprise - brands, goodwill, know-how, trade-secrets, technical information and contracts - in fact, almost all of its intangible assets apart from human capital.

The propositions that these intellectual assets are a major source of competitive advantage and company value for modern enterprises and that their recognition, management and exploitation are a strategic component of innovation policy are at the core of the IAC’s activities.

The IPR Enforcement Expert Group has emphasised that effective IPR enforcement begins with good intellectual property management. SMEs cannot protect their intellectual property, if they have not taken steps to identify it clearly, register it where appropriate, and build its proper management into the day-to-day operational practices of the enterprise in all the relevant areas. Furthermore, the Expert Group sees advantages in managing intellectual property within a framework that starts with a broader conception of the potential value of a range of intangible assets that are owned by an enterprise.

IAC Services

In applying this approach, the IAC has developed its own distinctive resources and tools which include:

  • A programme of events and workshops - many of these are run in conjunction with partner organisations; workshops illustrate IA management through a mixture of real life case studies, interactive exercises and games.
  • Tailored one-to-one support to individual companies
  • An information service, including the following downloadable resources:
    • Publications on invention and innovation, licensing and collaborating for success, along with a Brief Guide to Patenting;
    • An IA Questionnaire: a diagnostic tool to help identify intellectual assets and where they are important for a business;
    • An IA Glossary : lists terms commonly used relating to Intellectual Assets and provides clear explanations of their meaning;
    • The IA Register : a checklist to facilitate the identification of IA and to generate ideas of what types of IA an organisation may own;
    • The IA Audit : a step-by-step audit of intellectual assets, that helps businesses record them by category;
    • Case Studies : a series of studies describing the application of IA principles within particular businesses;
    • The Reference Library : on-line access to books and articles on intellectual assets and related areas.

Special provision is made for specific sectors, such as software companies, where assistance is provided in conjunction with a specialised agency.

In pursuing its objectives at an operational level (see under Evaluation & Performance), the IAC aims to become a "centre of knowledge" and a hub for activities in this area, developing a regional network of local expert advisers and establishing partnerships and networks with private and public organisations, but also, of course, developing tools and support for effective IAM in order to facilitate IA awareness and promote effective knowledge dissemination. Over time the IAC wishes to develop a community of interest in IA around which other initiatives could cluster and generate a model for reproduction elsewhere in the UK and further afield. In other words, the IAC aims to develop its own IA for reproduction after the initial Scottish pilot. As a result, a series of partnerships have been built up with other business support organisations.

Overall then, the Intellectual Assets Centre has become an engine for disseminating ideas on the approach that the Expert Group wish to promote. This is further facilitated by the international section of the IA’s web site, with its news sections and an international web forum and is also illustrated by the Italian section that is provided in collaboration with the University of the Basilicata.

Transferability & Performance

Creating a specific organisation to promote intellectual asset management was the result of a strategic decision by the Scottish Executive and by the two main economic development bodies in Scotland - Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. However IAM is to be promoted, high level recognition of its strategic importance is an important step towards its effective delivery.

Evaluation and measurement of performance is part of the IAC culture and is required by the IAC’s funders. In addition, the benchmarking report of the Austrian Institute for SME Research (KMFA) on support services for SMEs in the field of IPR rated the IAC highly.

The IAC Strategic Plan contains the following objectives which are in line with the IPR Expert Group’s recommendations for effective IPR enforcement:

  • To put IA on the business agenda - encouraging businesses from all sectors to understand the benefits of effective IA management;
  • To make the case for IA as a business tool and to realise the opportunities that effective IA use and leverage can present;
  • To provide support (advice and management tools) for the visualisation of IA;
  • To provide initial gap analyses and risk assessment diagnostics both for the identification of gaps in IA knowledge in general as well as for specific audits of business risks and inadequacies in protection;
  • To provide support (advice and management tools) for management, valuation and leverage of IA;
  • To understand the role of policing IA use and abuse by others and issues of enforcement and competitor analysis/intelligence; and
  • To link appropriately with professional assistors and associated regulatory and consultative bodies e.g. the UK Patent Office, and with the public and private providers of IA/IP, risk assessment, technology information etc.

Further information

Web site:

Contact details:

Intellectual Assets Centre

Suite 6/6, SkyPark

8 Elliot Place,

Glasgow, G3 8EP

UK

Tel: +44 (0)141 243 4920

E-mail: info@ia-centre.org.uk



Innovation Protection Programme (AT)

Title of case

The Innovation Protection Programme of the Austria Wirtschaftsservice (AWS)

Organisation

The Austria Wirtschaftsservice (AWS)

IPR Expert Group Recommendations

Effective enforcement by businesses has to begin with proper IP management;

Intellectual Asset Management has to be a core part of the promotion of innovation. Innovation agencies and innovation support programmes have to make effective provision for IPR enforcement;

There should be better co-ordination and a more consistent development of enforcement services in third countries;

A degree of experimentation ought to be encouraged and best practice exchanged.

Areas that the case illustrates

  • SME competence building
  • Intellectual asset management
  • The provision of dedicated services
  • Special provision in 3rd countries
  • Integration with innovation support
  • Integration with general business support

The AWS services relate to:

  • Intellectual Assets
  • Trade Secrets,
  • Licensing & Confidentiality Agreements
  • All forms of Intellectual Property

Brief description:

AWS’ Innovation Protection Programme arises from its core work of supporting innovation among Austrian enterprises and provides an example of enforcement work being well integrated into the support of the enterprises throughout the innovation cycle. AWS’ services in this area, and particularly those in third countries, are themselves innovative and are helping to define new types of enforcement support.

Full description

Austria Wirtschaftsservice (AWS) is a state-owned bank specifically geared to supporting

small and medium enterprises. The main aim of AWS is to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic client companies and to secure Austrian jobs on a long-term basis. AWS has a staff of about 230 and included in its provision is a series of technology and innovation services. In fact, AWS is the largest Austrian provider of services for evaluating and financing technological inventions.

The Innovation Protection Programme (IPP) was established in 2006 as a response to the needs of SMEs in relation to the international protection of their intellectual property.

Through the IPP, AWS provides its clients both with funding for IPR protection in emerging markets and with regional expertise. “Emerging markets” are defined as all non-OECD member countries, though the emphasis is on China, India, and Russia. Fluent speakers of Mandarin and Russian provide regional and legal knowledge, both through the Vienna headquarters and the Shanghai branch office.

IPP Services

AWS is of the view that it is important, through training, to raise IPR awareness among Austrian entrepreneurs and to help them to establish and manage their IPR portfolios. These actions are seen as essential prerequisites of effective enforcement and form part of the programme. From this basis, IPP then provides risk assessment, monitoring and investigation of infringements and support for legal and administrative action in complex environments such as China, India, and Russia. Lobbying governments in target countries is important “background activity”, behind the scenes.

AWS decides the degree of its involvement in a given case according to the prospects of success, the economic importance of the infringement to the company in question and to the national economy, and the degree to which the case can serve as an example.

Technology audits are one of the instruments used for risk assessment: experts conduct audits tailored to the specific needs of an enterprise, assess the situation of the product and recommend a comprehensive strategy for IPR protection and enforcement all along the value chain. Mediation has also been used effectively, especially in cases of copyright infringement.

AWS has built up a network of specialized lawyers in the IP field in China, India, and Russia. Because of the larger business volume expected, this has enabled AWS to offer economies of scale to clients in some cases, through discounted “flat rate” payments for patent filings etc.

In 2007, a typical enforcement case would include:

  • Registration of patents, trademarks etc., partly funded via IPP;
  • Infringement monitoring;
  • Sending “cease and desist” letters to IPR infringers;
  • Support for the client in obtaining enforcement measures from courts and administrative bodies;
  • Actively organising the seizure of offending goods at trade fairs;
  • Strengthening the legitimate rights’ holder’s legal position by filing additional rights and pleas for annulment of fraudulent IPR registrations.

About 25% of all Austrian companies who have registered their IPR in China in 2007 received some form of support from AWS.

In providing its services, AWS currently follows the EU’s SME or “de minimis” rules, but there are plans to enlarge its base in line with the “Community Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation”.

Other Activities

In addition to its training provision for enterprises, AWS provides regular training for Austrian enforcement agencies, helping to raise their awareness of SME issues in the IPR area.

Co-operating with other agencies is an important part of the way that AWS works. It has close links with overseas branches of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich) known as AWO (Außenwirtschaftsorganisationen), which are accredited as part of the local embassy or consulate. Co-operation includes exchanging business information, mutual referral of clients, organising joint training events, and co-ordinating support mechanisms so as to ensure maximum efficiency.

The Shanghai office maintains regular exchanges with the local AWO and various other business organisations there (EU Cham etc.), while the IPP programme staff in Vienna are also actively involved in several EU projects. These include a transatlantic IPR project for policy alignment, and a project to strengthen companies’ management competence. Finally, IPP is well integrated into the Austrian partners of the Enterprise Europe Network and acts as a subcontractor to them.

Transferability & Performance

The Austrian Ministry of Commerce evaluates the performance of AWS at several levels; with regard to the SME support system as a whole, institutes such as KMU-Forschung and Technopolis have carried out studies; the first external audit of the IPP itself which will be coordinated by Joanneum Research (Graz) is expected to be finalised during 2009. As an indication of take-up, AWS organised 26 seminars, workshops and similar events in 2007 and these were attended by 1,300 people.

Further information

Web site:

Contact details:

Dipl. -Ing. Dr. Georg Buchtela

Tel.: +43 (1) 501 75 - 551

Head of Intellectual Property Management

Mail: g.buchtela@awsg.at

Austria Wirtschaftsservice | ERP-Fonds

Ungargasse 37, 1030 Wien



Technology Watch Service (LU)

Title of case

The Technology Watch Service of the Henri Tudor Public Research Centre, Luxembourg

Organisation

The Henri Tudor Public Research Centre, Luxembourg

IPR Expert Group Recommendations

Effective enforcement by businesses has to begin with proper IP management;

Intellectual Asset Management has to be a core part of the promotion of innovation. Innovation agencies and innovation support programmes have to make effective provision for IPR enforcement;

Where not currently in place, a common Intellectual Property service has to be developed.

Areas that the case illustrates

  • SME competence building
  • Intellectual asset management
  • The provision of dedicated services
  • Integration with innovation support
  • Integration with general business support

The CVT’s services relate to:

  • Intellectual Assets
  • All forms of Intellectual Property

Brief description

Good business intelligence is an essential support to an active policy of IPR enforcement. The Technology Watch service offered by a dedicated department within the Henri Tudor Public Research Centre in Luxembourg both provides a service for SMEs based on a systematic exploitation of business and technical information sources and also assists them to develop their own capabilities in this area. The service is well integrated into more general IPR and innovation support.

Full description

The Technology Watch Centre within the Henri Tudor Public Research Centre in Luxembourg (Centre de Veille Technologique (CVT) – a department of the Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor CRP-HT) is part-funded by the Luxembourg Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade and aims to support the effective management of innovatory projects by assisting enterprises with critical information throughout the life-cycle of their products.

A team of business information specialists provides client enterprises with tailored information products, including packages delivered on a regular basis. Depending on their situation the information products can contain information on current developments in relevant scientific and technological fields, intelligence on developments in markets and among competitors and the details of public policy developments, such as new regulations or standards. The scope of the service, therefore, extends significantly beyond technological issues to cover market intelligence and other important aspects of the environment in which business is conducted.

The research that generates the information is conducted according to a strategy previously agreed with the client and can include database-searches in specialized sources, e.g. patents, scientific publications, standards, and web searches. Information-research and subsequent information-analysis is performed by more or less automated processes (automated web-searches, bibliometric and semantic analysis) and the information may be presented to the clients in standardized templates or in a form tailored to the needs of the company.

These services provide essential input for the planning of new R&D activities, by providing business intelligence on how technologies are evolving and on how they can be exploited, further developed and protected, involving all the relevant parties. They prompt SMEs to take good care of existing knowledge and help prevent them from infringing third party rights. The knowledge gained in using these services is also important for defining IP-strategies, for developing effective management of IPR and establishing the basis for efficient enforcement.

In addition, the Centre provides assistance to enterprises in further developing a ‘competitive intelligence’ competence within their management structures. This assistance is delivered primarily through training seminars or tailored consultancy. In this way, the service helps the enterprise to make best use of the information provided and also contributes to the general strengthening of its management capabilities.

Integration with Other Services

Although this service is offered to any innovating enterprise, the particular application in the management and defence of intellectual property rights is clear. In this respect, the Technology Watch service is well integrated into a series of other services that support the development and protection of IPR, including (but not limited to) the classic services relating to the development of industrial property – patents, trademarks and related areas. These begin with information services – preliminary searches, anteriority, patents in similar areas, up-dating services etc – and extend to publications and guides on intellectual property in its widest sense and general innovation support, in the form of training on business planning, financial management etc. Special provision is made for the IP needs of business start-ups.

The delivery of this broader range of services comes in ways that are adapted to the circumstances of smaller enterprises. For instance, a dedicated publication LIIP – Linking Innovation and Industrial Property- , developed as part of an EU project, provides orientation for IPR beginners by offering “10 pragmatic recommendations for a better integration of IP in your business”. The guide goes on to provide brief descriptions of the different forms of IPR, guidelines on which IP protection instrument to chose under certain circumstances and tips on how to enforce IP rights.

An e-learning course of 18 modules - DIPS (Distance learning applied to enhance the introduction of IP into management Strategies of SMEs), which is specially adapted to the needs of SME managers, provides enterprises with the tools for a more systematic approach to introducing IP management into their business strategy.

In addition, of course, counselling services provide one-to-one engagement on IPR matters and regular training sessions are organised. Services are priced to cover costs. Specific services (provided on a one to one basis ) are priced at commercial rates. Awareness creation and general information services are free of charge.

The Technology Watch services are, therefore, well situated within a service portfolio that offers extensive support for the management of IPR of all kinds. Furthermore, this set of services is itself well integrated into the broader promotion of innovation that is the central objective of the Henri Tudor Public Research Centre. As such, the service has shows a number of elements of the good practice that leads to effective business support.

Transferability & Performance

A well-qualified and dedicated professional team is important to the success of CVT’s services, along with a well-judged pricing policy.

8 - 12 persons work in the Centre and half the staff are dedicated to SME services and training activities. CVT's standardised information products are based on desk research that can take from half a day to 4 working days and this work is executed by highly qualified and skilled information analysts. Staff working on SME services have a University-degree in a Scientific or Engineering field and a supplementary specialisation in information sciences (from Universities that have diplomas in competitive intelligence, technology watch etc). Customer relations and marketing is also a very important function in CVT.

Costs for standardised information-products range from 500 to 3200 €. However, in a lot of cases services have to be tailored to the specific needs of the companies and this leads to prices that go beyond the indicated amounts.

CRP Henri Tudor’s ISO 9001(2000) certification for the management of innovation projects and for providing innovation services covers the services described in this case study. In a recently signed (2008) performance contract between CRP Henri Tudor and the State of Luxembourg, key performance indicators (KPI) have been defined in quantitative terms. Among the key indicators there is a commitment on the part of CVT to deliver a defined service target (revenue on contacts) and to contribute to the scientific output of the research centre (in the form of publications in papers and conferences). An ex-post evaluation will be carried out after the end of the current CP-period (2010). The Benchmarking study by the Austrian Institute for SME Research rated the services highly, reporting high levels of user satisfaction and additionality.

Further information

Web site:

Contact details:

Dr Serge Quazzotti

Chargé de direction

Centre de Veille Technologique (CVT)

Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor

29, avenue John F. Kennedy

L-1855 Luxembourg-Kirchberg

Tel: +352 42 59 91 410

Fax : +352 42 59 91 777

Mail: serge.quazzotti@tudor.lu



IP Prediagnostic Service (FR)

Title of case

IP Pre-diagnostic Service of the French National Industrial Property Institute

Organisation

The National Industrial Property Institute, France

IPR Expert Group Recommendations

Effective enforcement by businesses has to begin with proper IP management;

Intellectual Asset Management has to be a core part of the promotion of innovation. Innovation agencies and innovation support programmes have to make effective provision for IPR enforcement.

Areas that the case illustrates

  • SME competence building
  • Intellectual asset management
  • The provision of dedicated services
  • Integration with innovation support
  • Integration with general business support

The Pre-diagnostic service relates to:

  • Patents
  • Utility models
  • Trademarks
  • Designs
  • Intellectual rights

Brief description

A widely available, easily understandable and direct ‘pre-diagnostic’ service in France, targeted at enterprises without any previous experience of IPR management, sets them off in the right direction, by conducting an audit that reviews their intellectual assets in relation to their general business situation, identifies areas of competitive advantage and helps the enterprise to put in place an appropriate IP management strategy.

Full description

INPI, the National Industrial Property Institute (Institut national de la propriété industrielle), the French Patent and Trademark Office, provides a wide range of services to enterprises, directly, through an extensive web-based information system and through regional offices, which in turn co-operate with other regional business support agencies. These services cover all forms of intellectual property, include information provision, training and counselling and put the institute at the heart of national innovation strategy.

Since 2004, as part of this portfolio of services, INPI has offered a ‘pre-diagnostic’ audit that consists of an evaluation of the potential of an enterprise in terms of its industrial property. The service is free to enterprises that are new to IP management and consists of an expert analysis, conducted over one or two days, of the existing and potential intellectual assets of an enterprise, given its current situation and its endowment of knowledge and skills. The analysis also considers ways that IP can be managed and especially, where appropriate, opportunities for registering industrial property. A report is provided for the enterprise that highlights areas of competitive advantage and possible strategies for managing and exploiting them, along with practical advice on implementation. Costs and financial implications are also covered.

The result of the audit is that enterprises are not only pointed in the right direction, in terms of registering industrial property, but the enterprise management is helped to develop a whole new perspective on the significance of IP management. In this way, there is an important contribution to building the management capacity of the enterprise.

The pre-diagnostic service is, however, essentially a first step on the part of relatively small and inexperienced enterprises. It is designed to be a quick intervention and thus to avoid disruption of normal business processes, but it can be the start of more substantial developments that can supported by other services from INRI and its partner agencies.

Transferability & Performance

2,500 IP pre-diagnostic analyses have been performed since 2004.

There is regular monitoring of the service, which includes direct interviews with enterprises and external evaluations that show the success of the scheme in targeting small enterprises and achieving a high satisfaction rate among clients. A high proportion of clients have taken formal steps, such as registering IP.

The Benchmarking study by the Austrian Institute for SME Research rated the services highly, reporting high levels of user satisfaction and additionality.

Further information

Web site:

Contact details :

Pascal DUYCK

Head of IP Awareness department

Hélène SALAVILLE

Manager Project IP pre diagnostic

Tel: +33 3 28 36 33 90

Mail : pduyck@inpi.fr

logo-cippie.gif 
Innovaccess is a constituent part of the IP Awareness and Enforcement: Modular Based Actions for SMEs project (IPeuropAware) 
which is co-financed by the CIP Programme, DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission
ipeuropeaware-pie.gif