This conference was a unique opportunity to listen to intellectual property (IP) professionals, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sharing their experience and knowledge. The 1-day conference explored how the EU and its regions can help SMEs to become more competitive and grow through the smart use of IP.

The European Commission, the Finnish Presidency and the Committee of the Regions brought together policy makers, (small) businesses, IP offices, innovation agencies, regional support centres and fund managers from all across Europe.

First, we discussed the challenges that SMEs face when trying to make use of their intangible assets, then we followed with possible solutions that could help SMEs make smarter use of IP.

More information is available in the documents below (agenda, conclusions, presentations and CVs).

Our goal is to make it easier for small businesses to become large innovators and global competitors.

Feel free to contact us if you would like to develop certain ideas further at GROW-IP-CONFERENCES@ec.europa.eu

More information

• Conference agenda - Innovative, collaborative, regional: Smart intellectual property for a competitive Europe (PDF, 644 KB)
• Smart intellectual property for a competitive Europe: Main conference conclusions (PDF, 298 KB)
• Smart intellectual property for a competitive Europe: Speaker profiles (PDF, 751 KB)
• Smart intellectual property for a competitive Europe: Presentations from the morning sessions (PDF, 4 MB)
• Smart intellectual property for a competitive Europe: Presentations from the afternoon sessions (PDF, 4 MB)
• Smart intellectual property for a competitive Europe: Poll results (PDF, 2 MB)
• Data privacy statement for events organised by the European Commission