Newsletter - Latin America IP SME Helpdesk

On behalf of DG GROW, EISMEA has commissioned a study to investigate the extent to which the legal protection of trade secrets can help create a safe environment for the business-to-business data sharing. This initiative, aiming to inform the European Commission for future policy initiatives, is open and every company is invited to answer those questions that are relevant to them. They do not need to be experts in all the covered areas to provide valuable information.

E-commerce has become something more than a complement to traditional shopping, and its increasing trend has attracted new buyers and sellers, with all the risks involved. Join this webinar and find out which are the keys to operate safely, know the Intellectual Property policies of the main platforms and how to get the best out of them so that your clients receive only what you want to offer them.

In this virtual event you will be introduced to the EPO's new case study series with valuable insights from two successful technology transfers from European universities. Each of them will highlight how IP supported the technology transfer and commercialisation and its different roles throughout the process concluding with key takeaways for those active in the field. This webinar is part of a training collaboration between the European Patent Office and the European IP Helpdesk.

Trade fairs are an excellent opportunity for EU SMEs to reach new customers and potential partners, strengthen the company’s image, analyse the local market and display their products and services. However, these commercial events can also involve exposure to certain risks, such as counterfeiting and piracy of new products or the potential loss of the novelty of your inventions. In this sense, bear in mind that displaying products at trade fairs constitutes ‘publication’, which may jeopardise a potential patent or design application in Brazil.

There are many ways for an SME to exploit its intellectual property rights (IPRs) abroad. Since opening a local subsidiary is not always viable, IP licensing is one of the most effective and secure ways to broaden IPR exploitation. IP licensing consists of one or more agreements (licensing agreements) in which the IPR owner (licensor) allows the licensee to exploit the IPR in the region in exchange for royalties.

In a broad sense, an open licence is a copyright licensing scheme that allows the free distribution of copies and, sometimes, modified versions of works. These licences often require that the same rights are passed on to the modified versions of the work. Open licences can apply to any kind of work protected by copyright: software, literary works, images, music... However, bear in mind that open licences apply to copyright only but not to other IPRs (patents, trade marks, etc.) The open licensing system should be considered as complementary to copyright protection.

The Helpline service provides first-line assistance on Intellectual Property protection and IP rights enforcement in Latin America. All questions sent through this service will receive a tailor-made answer by our IP experts or it will be signposted to appropriate organisations within no more than 3 working days.