On 21st of May 2020, celebrating the centenary of the Latvian Patent Office (LPO) and the Latvian industrial property protection system, the LPO held an online conference on "Intellectual Property - Vision without Illusion". The conference’s interactive environment gave an opportunity for the public to ask questions and express opinions. More than 3,300 people followed the conference online.
The WIPO Director General Dr. Francis Gurry warmly congratulated Latvia on the 100th anniversary of its industrial property protection system. In his opening remarks, he pointed out, “Latvia has always been an extraordinary constructive and helpful member state of the WIPO, very prominent member of the Central European and the Baltic States Group and we are very grateful to Latvia for its positive attitude to international cooperation in the field of IP.”
The EPO President António Campinos felicitated Latvia and highlighted Latvia's contribution as a member of the EPO, “As a result of those efforts and all the others in the European patent network, the quality of our patents is higher, nationally and throughout Europe”. He also stressed that, “These challenging times are testing our strength and pushing our boundaries. I believe that if we can manage to see past all the disruption, if we can work together, there is promise and huge potential to make our IP system even stronger and better.”
The EUIPO Executive Director Christian Archambeau echoed this sentiment in his opening remarks, “We are finding ways to go through these difficult times together. We do hope to continue our successful collaboration with the Latvian Patent Office in order to bring the IP system closer to our users, as well as to make it more accessible.”.
The Director of the LPO Sandris Laganovskis expressed his greatest gratitude to partners from the WIPO, the EPO, and the EUIPO for their support and contribution in organizing this event and to Latvia’s industrial property protection system in general. He stressed, “It is important to keep pace with the times and develop modern solutions in order to provide maximum support to Latvian innovators not only locally, but also globally.”
Mr. Carsten Fink, Chief Economist at the WIPO, and Mr. Yann Meniere, Chief Economist at the EPO, discussed global challenges facing the economy and the system of IP protection under the influence of industry 5.0. The speakers emphasized the role of artificial intelligence, which has a significant impact on medicine, transport, energy resources, electronics, food and construction industries, noting that the future system of IP protection will be undoubtedly linked to smart technologies and artificial intelligence.
Ms. Florence Mouradian, Economist at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, went on to present the current trends and challenges in the fight against counterfeiting, stressing that it has affected an increasingly diverse range of products and that, in addition to the growing economic damage, counterfeit goods can seriously threaten consumers’ health and safety as well as the environment.
Mr. Jānis Ošlejs and Mr. Rolands Cepurītis, CEO and Technical Director at Primekss Group, respectively, and Mr. Beat Weibel, Chief IP Counsel at the Siemens AG, shared their practical experience in the use of IP in entrepreneurship. The speakers were unanimous that a strong patent portfolio and timely access to innovation capital are definitely an advantage in business development, allowing to be a step ahead of competitors.
Mr. Marco Palumbo, Senior L&V Manager at Oxford University Innovation Ltd, told about how one of the most exciting commercial quantum technology centres in the world has been created. Mr. Andris Ambainis, Professor at the University of Latvia, spoke about quantum computers as one of the greatest technologies of the future, billions of euros and dollars being currently invested into its development worldwide. He noted that it is a competition field for the USA, China and Europe.
The conference concluded with the panel discussion on issues of educating the younger generation in IP. In the discussion took part the representatives of the EUIPO’s Intellectual Property in Education Network Ms. Justyna Petsch and Mr. Kari Kivinen, the Patent Office’s representative Ms. Santa Darģe, and “Simple +” company’s owner and an active inspirer of young people Mr. Kristiāns Lancmanis. The conference ended with a strong encouragement for young people to take care of the protection of their intellectual work, emphasizing that the IP registration process in Latvia is relatively easy, convenient and adequately priced.
Taking a step into the next century, the Patent Office’s conference outlined the most important aspects to be taken into account when developing the system of innovation and IP protection:
Intellectual property issues should be included in the curriculum, thus fostering a responsible and innovative generation. The topic is gradually being included in the content of various educational subjects all over the world, especially in the countries of the European Union, in order to make young minds aware of the possibilities of defending their intellectual work.
With the rapid development of technologies and artificial intelligence, it is necessary to create an appropriate environment for the protection of intellectual property - providing opportunities to obtain exclusive rights also with respect to quantum technologies, protection of algorithms, etc.
Thank you for being with us! #ipvision2020
You can watch the conference video here: https://t.co/rilw2zurgc?amp=1
You can receive the conference presentations by registering here: https://conference2020.lv