IP best practices: The interface between business and innovation

Monday, 1 December 2014 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Key stakeholders from the private and public sector came together at an event on 25 November to learn and exchange ideas about the important topic of how best to implement a high level intellectual property rights (IPR) strategy. This is a challenge especially for small and medium sized enterprises which may not have sufficient dedicated resources in place for this purpose. This event, organised by The Sri Lanka IP Association - the local branch of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) - in collaboration with the European Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ECCSL), had the objective of highlighting to businesses the importance of IPRs and helping them navigate effectively around the IP system. It was pointed out that Sri Lanka is currently ranked 105 in the Global Innovation Index in a list of 143 countries and in the context of the country’s aspiration to become a knowledge hub it urgently needs to see more innovation and inventiveness. AIPPI is the world’s leading organisation for research into and formulation of policy for and the law relating to the protection of intellectual property. AIPPI is a non-political, non-profit international organisation which unites practitioners, academics and owners of intellectual property.

Counting almost 9000 members from more than 100 countries, its objective is to improve and promote the protection of intellectual property at both the national and international level. Its tasks include the promotion of the understanding of the necessity for intellectual property protection in the broadest sense and harmonisation and further development of all aspects of intellectual property. The presenters at the event included Professor Ajith De Alwis, the Project Director of the recently constituted Coordinating Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI) of Sri Lanka, and international speakers who travelled to Sri Lanka to present at the event. Karen Abraham, a well-known Malaysian IP Attorney spoke on the topic of ‘Developing and Formulating Strategic IP Policies and IP Due Diligence’. The Secretary-General of the AIPPI Laurent Thibon, shared his knowledge in regard to the world of ‘Patenting in the Context of Evolving Asia’. Professor de Alwis spoke on the topic of Innovation and the importance of IP in moving the Sri Lankan economy forward and backed up his observations with statistical evidence. He made it apparent to all participants that competition throughout the world in the 21st century will, indeed, revolve around competition for Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and that Sri Lanka must recognise the importance of innovation and the role of IPRs in supporting innovation. Professor de Alwis stated: “It is imperative to develop an innovation eco-system with key performance indicators. We do have the necessary elements but lack coordination which is an area COSTI aspires to contribute in changing.” Getting ahead with IPR In her presentation Abraham discussed how businesses can leverage IPR to get ahead of the competition and shared valuable tips on how companies can discover IPRs that lie there unrecognised and unexploited and then build an IP system appropriate to the needs of their own business. She noted: “Sri Lanka has a burgeoning emerging market and it is imperative that both SMEs and multinational companies recognise intellectual property as part of the intellectual assets of the company. The question that must be posed is ‘Has your intellectual property been protected, harnessed and exploited for commercial gain?’ Identifying, protecting and exploiting your intellectual assets are what will set you apart from your competitors and it is essential that you have an intellectual property policy as a guideline to navigate the company towards success.” Laurent Thibon, by profession a European patent and trademark attorney, in his presentation clearly outlined the benefits of protecting technical innovations and highlighted different ways of protecting abroad the research and development results discovered by Sri Lankan companies. He concluded by saying: “It is time for Sri Lanka to consider patent protection of local innovations. Countries such as India, China, Japan and Korea are actively filing patents.” In his capacity as Secretary General of AIPPI Thibon also introduced the International Association for the Protection of the Intellectual Property (AIPPI) to the audience and spoke about the benefits of joining the Sri Lankan Group of AIPPI, which aims to further the promotion and protection of intellectual property and provides valuable information and networking opportunities to its members in the field of IP. Managing Director of Nielsen, Sri Lanka Shaheen Cader, delivered a compelling presentation on brand evaluation, alluding to the foundations on which strong brands are built. Brand equity consists of emotive loyalty and price premium. A brand with strong brand health would have consumers preferring the brand over others, recommending it to friends and family and paying a price premium for it. John Wilson, Attorney-at-Law, of the law firm John Wilson Partners and Co-President of the Sri Lanka IP Association – Sri Lanka Group of AIPPI, provided valuable insights and practical advice in regard to the status of patenting activity and filings in terms of the Patent Cooperation Treaty and also outlined strategies for business in regard to their trademark and patent IPRs. He referred to the efforts of the ECCSL to support the IPR needs of its members and the focused work of The Sri Lanka IP Association – Sri Lanka Group of AIPPI. Commissioner Sri Lanka Inventors Commission, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi delivered a visionary presentation alluding to the opportunity which should be captured by Sri Lanka in the context of the country’s human capital, innovation and the spurring on of companies and innovators in Sri Lanka to believe in themselves and undertake needful steps to pursue IP protection and IP strategies. This, in turn, would also positively impact Sri Lanka’s position in the Global Innovation Index. The audience gained excellent insight into making IPRs an integral element of the business strategy of companies in Sri Lanka and beyond.