PROGRAM 30 SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES) AND INNOVATION

PROGRAM 30 SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES) AND INNOVATION

OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS IN 2014

1. 
   Work continued in cooperation with national and regional IP Offices and other institutions in assisting entrepreneurs and SMEs in using the IP system, primarily through (a) adapting and/or translating content on IP for business to the local context, and (b) training of trainers programs. With respect to the latter, 15 programs on effective IP asset management by SMEs, benefitting over 561 participants, were organized, aiming at creating a critical mass of trainers in specific countries with knowledge, skills and experience to provide basic assistance to SMEs on IP asset management. The Program also contributed to the promotion of women’s empowerment in IP. To this end, the International Workshop for Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs was organized by WIPO, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Korea Women Inventors Association (KWIA), in which 137 women inventors and entrepreneurs from 17 countries participated.
   

2. 
   In 2014, a new book on Confidence - An Introduction to Trade Secrets for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises was finalized. Another new publication, Beyond Taste: Intellectual Property for Healthy Agro-Food SMEs, and updated versions of three former publications (namely Making a Mark - An Introduction to Trademarks for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises; Inventing the Future - An Introduction to Patents for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises; and A Stitch in Time - Smart Use of Intellectual Property by Textile Companies) were awaiting approval for publication. A book entitled Intellectual Capital Readiness: The Use of Intangibles to Access Capital Markets – An Introduction for Business and Investors, originally completed in 2012, was updated in preparation for publication in 2015, and an additional new guide on IP and Finance was prepared and is under final review. WIPO also contributed to an initial draft of a book on Leveraging Intellectual Property as a Strategic Business Asset (Strategic IP Management)³⁷.
   

3. 
   An online international certificate course on IP asset management for business success based on IP PANORAMA^TM was taken by 709 students, and 38 students participated subsequently in an offline program on IP asset management held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, prepared by WIPO and implemented in a coordinated fashion by WIPO, KIPO, the Korea Invention Promotion Association (KIPA) and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
   

4. 
   Efforts to reach out directly to SMEs continued via the SMEs website in the six UN languages and the monthly e-newsletter, which was distributed to over 40,000 subscribers worldwide. Five new case studies on IP for SMEs were created on the following topics: (i) Ezequiel Farca (Mexico); (ii) Haldiram (India), (iii) Wondereight (Lebanon); (iv), Developing Affordable Software for Small Businesses: HSCO LLP (UK/Jordan); and (v) Ensuring the Safe Flow of Energy - PipeWay Engenharia (Brazil), of which the last two were published in IP Advantage.
   

5. 
   In line with DA Recommendations 1, 4, 10 and 11, the Program organized or participated in 20 SME-related seminars, workshops or training of trainers programs on IP management in 19 countries, mostly developing countries and LDCs in Africa, the Arab region, Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean. These programs benefitted over 900 representatives of SMEs and SME support institutions from 50 countries, including 15 LDCs and 35 developing countries and transition economies. Taking a larger lead role, the IP Offices and/or the chambers of commerce of the concerned Member States were closely involved during the planning stages and made substantial contributions during the development and implementation stages of the programs, including in the selection of speakers and the program topics. In addition, the training of trainers program included a round table discussion on the subject of IP awareness and use by SMEs, which identified the challenges facing local SMEs and SMEsupport institutions, and proposed a road map to address those challenges, in line with Recommendation 4.
   

6. 
   In 2014, work continued to identify the areas where innovation policy interacts with IP. Following the successful implementation of the pilot project on integrating IP into innovation policy formulation implemented in Serbia during the previous biennium, national projects in Cameroon, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago were launched in 2014. The national projects in Cameroon, Rwanda, Serbia and Sri Lanka were completed in 2014. The national project in Trinidad and Tobago is foreseen to be completed in 2015. These projects sought to map the innovation system in the selected countries, identify the principal actors and determine their participation in the innovation system, their awareness and reliance on the IP system and the gaps and needs in the innovation system from an IP perspective, with a view to garnering more insight into the development of more effective national IP strategies, as well as to contribute to the design of more appropriate and focused support services to be provided by WIPO. A positive outcome of these projects was the ensuing collaboration with a larger EU-funded project in the Caribbean entitled IPICA – Empowering knowledge transfer in the Caribbean through effective IPR and Knowledge Transfer (KT) regimes, coordinated by the University of Alicante.
   

INNOVATION STRUCTURES

7. 
   Through tailored IP commercialization projects, capacity building programs and advisory services to WIPO Member States, the Program also facilitated the development of adequate legal and organizational infrastructure as well as professional human capital to promote creation and strategic IPR management of knowledge and research results from an early stage towards technology markets, by using IP system and commercialization tools and processes. Using customized training services, the number of stakeholders (government officials, technology managers, scientists and patent agents) that were trained in 2014 grew compared to previous years, with more than 1,300 participants trained through in situ events, and an additional 90 innovation stakeholders, including entrepreneurial women in Africa, through more than 120 distance practice modules and video conferences. Evaluation methods were also strengthened in 2014 by a) introducing the gender perspective in evaluation questionnaires, in line with the Organization’s Policy on Gender Equality adopted in 2014, and also by b) measuring the potential number of indirect users of training materials and knowledge disseminated through capacity building.
   

8. 
   The project for the “Establishment of Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) in the Arab Region” was redesigned in 2014 to expand the geographic scope to accommodate Member State requests. In that context, implementation of the Tunisia Action Plan started focusing on legal institutional infrastructure of beneficiary institutions in Tunisia. Progress was made towards strengthening four TTOs in Tunisia to be operationally independent and sustainable.
   

9. 
   The University Initiative Program was under review for improvement and customization to the changing needs of universities and R&D institutions in WIPO Member States, including in developing and developed countries. Assistance regarding IP Institutional Policies was provided to 16 universities and R&D institutions.
   

10. 
    Some 33 training programs were organized in 2014 in collaboration with internal and external partners as follows: nine on Patent Drafting, 15 on IPR Management for Universities and R&D Institutions, seven Successful Technology Licensing (STL) courses, and two IP Valuation trainings.
    

11. 
    Partnerships with the European Commission Joint Research Center (EC JRC) and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) were particularly strengthened in very fruitful collaboration with the “Danube Initiative Program” and “Establishment of Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) in Arab Region”.
    

12. 
    Pursuant to DA Recommendations 19, 25, 26 and 28,in the context of the project on Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer: Common Challenges – Building Solutions, all six studies on aspects of technology transfer were peer-reviewed by international experts, and presented to the CDIP at its fourteenth session in November 2014 . Following the completion of the studies and as envisaged in the approved project document, a concept paper on building solutions was prepared to provide the basis for discussion at the High Level International Expert Forum, to be held in Geneva in February, 2015. ,
    

13. 
    Concerning DA Recommendation 36, under the Project on Open Collaborative Projects and IP-Based Models, an Expert Meeting was organized in the WIPO Headquarters in the form of a WIPO Conference on Open Innovation: Collaborative Projects and the Future of Knowledge, held in January 2014.  In addition, an In-Depth Evaluation Study and a study on Global Knowledge Flows, for incorporation into the planned Interactive Platform, were completed and presented to the CDIP at its fourteenth session.
    

PERFORMANCE DATA

RESOURCE UTILIZATION

Budget and Actual Expenditure (personnel and non-personnel)

A. Budget after Transfers 2014/15

14. 
    The decrease in personnel resources in the 2014/15 Budget after Transfers compared to the 2014/15 Approved Budget reflects (i) the transfer of responsibilities for the implementation of the DA projects Open Collaborative Models and Technology Transfer to Program 5 (The PCT System) and (ii) delays in identifying the right skills and competencies in support of the Program’s activities to compensate for the transfer of a staff member out of the Program.
    

15. 
    The net decrease in non-personnel resources reflects a downward adjustment primarily due to the transfer of responsibility for patent drafting training to Program 1.
    

B. Budget utilization 2014

16. 
    The low resource utilization under non-personnel resources was primarily due to the overall slower than expected pace of implementation of activities, particularly under Expected Result IV.2 (Enhanced access to, and use of, IP information and knowledge).