Innovators Losing Out in Race for Patents
Innovators Losing Out in Race for Patents
The Czech Republic's Industrial Property Office (UPV) has found that only 876 patent applications and 1,793 utility model applications were filed in 2012, a 10 percent rise from 2011. UPV has launched a campaign to help encourage Czech entrepreneurs to patent their discoveries. UPV officials say the country loses billions of crowns every year because inventors are not aware they need to or do not know how to patent their discoveries. Other inventors are scared off by the potential financial burdens of properly protecting a patent. However, the UPV's Patent It campaign, which was launched on this year's World Intellectual Property Day, will teach Czech organizations how to patent their intellectual property and how to use the Espacenet global database, which supplies examples of 80 million existing patents. Even with these efforts, some local innovators say there are few Czech companies prepared "to move global technology forward." However, Mukul Ranjan, an NIH technology transfer manager working in the Czech Republic, says filing for a patent is not the only way to benefit from the patent system. "By monitoring patents and intellectual property, you can actually become more competitive as a company or an individual," Ranjan says.
From the article of the same title. Prague Post (05/15/13) Finnigan, Michael