Regional initiatives

The L2Pro (Learn to Protect) India IP e-learning platform aims to educate start-ups, MSMEs, and innovators on protection and enforcement of their intellectual property. As an e-learning platform, the course is divided into three different levels. The basic level provides an overview of the intellectual property landscape in India. The intermediate and the advanced levels deal in detail with the more sophisticated concepts of protecting, managing, and commercializing IP, funding, the role of IP tech-standards, and IP dispute settlement. Innovation Council member Qualcomm provided the seed money for L2Pro, which was initially launched in Germany and the UK.

This Bloomberg article discusses the introduction of the General Motors Co. Hongguang MINI EV in China, a surprise hit that sells for less than $5,000.

The Swiss Triple Impact program aims to accelerate the contributions of Swiss businesses towards a more sustainable economy by mobilizing 3000 companies in Switzerland within 3 years to take action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Innovate4Health is a joint research project by the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP) and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). This project highlights how intellectual property-driven innovation can address global health challenges through technology case studies that span the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

This September 2020 LeadershIP webinar features senior officials from the United States DOJ, PTO, and NIST discussing intellectual property protection and enforcement, and the relevance of competition rules to IP licensing, in the wireless technology sector.  Among other topics, the speakers discuss the challenge of patent hold-out, whereby standard essential patent (SEP) owners face unwilling licensees engaged in ongoing infringement of their IPRs, and confirm their shared view that injunctive relief should be available without restrictions for SEPs.

A newly launched initiative in the United States – “Invent Together” – is an effort by universities, companies, organizations, and other stakeholders to collect data about the diversity gaps in invention and patenting, and to support public policy and other initiatives to close them. In particular, Invent Together aims to close the patent gaps for women, people of color, and low-income individuals. In doing so, the initiative aims to help close wage and wealth gaps, strengthen the U.S. economy, and develop new and different inventions. A focus of Invent Together is increasing the availability of data and research about the patent gaps.

Innovative SMEs are important drivers of economic growth, job creation, and innovation in every country.  These case studies from the EPO demonstrate how European SMEs, across sectors and countries, leverage IP rights for growth. It also highlights the challenges they face in securing, enforcing, and effectively managing their IP rights.

The EU and United States publish reports about IP protection and enforcement challenges faced by their innovators in different markets. These reports are considered by some to be controversial, for the types of IP issues they raise and for giving rise to some political discomfort.  The reports play a key role in signalling challenges that IP owners – whether trademark, copyright, patent, or trade secrets owners – report around the world, so they can be evaluated and addressed in policy discussions and negotiations.