The European Commission has recently adopted a new Action Plan to help small and medium-sized companies to manage, protect and commercialize inventions and creations in the knowledge economy. The Commission, like many governments and professional advisers, has identified the need to increase the awareness and legal protection of Intellectual Property. A welcomed initiative and in line with our fascination of and expertise within the field of Intellectual Property law.
Intellectual Property (IP) are key assets for an increasing number of companies around the world. IP relates to intangible assets such as inventions, brands, design, software, know-how, business secrets, copyright protected works and software.
The Action Plan (adopted by the European Commission) identifies five key focus areas to increase the awareness and value of IP:
- Improving the protection of IP
- Boost the uptake of IP by small and medium-sized companies (SMEs)
- Facilitate the sharing of IP
- Fight counterfeiting and improve enforcement of IP rights
- Promote a global level playing field
IP-intensive industries currently account for almost 45% of Europe’s GDP, and Sweden has long been a leader within the creative industries and is further recognized as an Innovation Leader and a Global hotbed of innovation. Incorporating IP as an integrated part of the business strategy is today a must in the ever increasing competition in the knowledge economy, and the European Commission initiative is a welcomed and much needed step in the right direction.
