On Friday, 6 September, a regular technical meeting of the Latvian Patent Office (LPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) was held, during which the current developments of the cooperation projects and the LPO’s public awareness activities implemented this year were discussed.
The EUIPO delegation presented the IT projects aimed at improving user experience of the intellectual property (IP) system, as well as the projects for improving the daily operational processes at the EUIPO and national offices. In its turn, the LPO reported on the implementation status of the current IT projects, as well as presented the future steps and plans for the implementation of the new ones.
Discussing the future activities, the EUIPO delegation informed about their intentions related to raising public awareness of IP and the inclusion of underrepresented groups of society, including women working in business and younger generations as future users of the IP system, in the IP sector. It is planned to address these groups and develop the tools customized for each of them.
The EUIPO will continue to provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises to register their IP rights.
LPO Director Agris Batalauskis informed the EUIPO delegation about this year’s LPO activities related to educating and raising public awareness of the importance and protection of IP rights, about the participation in The European Network of Authenticities project, the public awareness campaign on counterfeits and their negative impact on the national economy, health and related risks, and the events for specific target audiences, including the annual regional seminar for judges and the seminar for customs officers.
Agris Batalauskis expressed his gratitude to the EUIPO for the opportunity given to the LPO to get involved in the EUIPO’s work processes, including discussions on medium-term operational strategies, budget, and other topical issues affecting national IP offices.
At the meeting, the LPO was represented by Director Agris Batalauskis, Deputy Director/Director of the Administrative and Finance Department Ēriks Rēķis, Head of the Technical Support Division Arnis Dmitruks, Deputy Director of the Trademarks and Industrial Designs Department Ieva Paula-Drekslere, Director of the Development and International Cooperation Department (DDIC) Ilze Grava, DDIC Deputy Director Terēze Vētra, DDIC Leading Officer Vineta Sondore, DDIC Public Relations Officer Ella Niedra, DDIC Project Managers Māra Vilciņa and Katrīna Gulbe, and DDIC Leading Officer Ināra Stalidzāne.
The EUIPO delegation was represented by Javier Moreno, Deputy Director of the Cooperation and Partnerships Department, Aleksandr Maksimenkov, Country Coordinator, Olivier Galaup, Agis Theodorakeas, Jan Poljovka, Laia Esteban, and Samantha de la Cueva from the European Cooperation Area, as well as Vladimir Silin, Deployed Project Manager.