Content

International MSME Day: DPMA expands its information offer for small and medium-sized enterprises

On its SME information pages at www.dpma.de, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office now offers even more helpful information on the benefit, application, enforcement and promotion of intellectual property – DPMA President: The development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is better if they protect their intellectual property – 93% of SMEs experience a positive impact of IP rights

Press release of 26 June 2024

Munich. How to identify, effectively protect and enforce intellectual property – and thus to increase the success of a company: On its SME information pages (in German), the German Patent and Trade Mark Office now provides SMEs with even more comprehensive and tailored information about how a suitable strategy helps them benefit from IP rights. Before International MSME Day (June 27th), we substantially changed our web presence, adding a lot of useful information and improving the user-friendliness. “Only SMEs that effectively protect their intellectual property can exploit its full economic potential,” DPMA President Eva Schewior emphasises. “We are certain that the development of many SMEs can be even better if they see and systematically use the opportunities the protection of intellectual property offers.”

From evaluation to strategy – including with financial support

Our changed web pages inform companies why they should protect their intellectual property and what assets of their company can be protected at all. Furthermore, there is information on how to draw up an IP strategy and what to include.

But what happens if IP rights are infringed? The use of IP rights also includes effectively enforcing them against third parties. On our website, we also provide SMEs with information on the best practices to follow if their protected product is counterfeited, their business secret is divulged or their texts and pictures are used without permission.

Another important issue for SMEs is financial support. On our SME pages, we explain how SMEs get grants for the evaluation of their current protection options and for individual IP applications.

Only 10% of European SMEs use IP rights so far

More than 99% of the businesses in the European Union are small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, SMEs in Germany account for 55% of the jobs, 80% of the trainees and around 61% of the total net value added.

On average, only 10% of the SMEs throughout Europa use patents, utility models, trade marks and designs so far (source: 2022 SME Scoreboard of the European Union Intellectual Property Office, EUIPO). Out of the SMEs that own IP rights, 93% experience a positive impact of these rights. The benefits reported most frequently by SMEs with registered IP rights are that the registration improves the reputation or image of the company (reported by 60%) and offers them better IP protection (58%) and better long-term business prospects (48%).

The German Patent and Trade Mark Office

Inventiveness and creativity need effective protection. The DPMA is the German centre of expertise for all intellectual property rights – patents, utility models, trade marks and designs. As the largest national patent office in Europe and the fifth largest national patent office in the world, our office stands for the future of Germany as a country of inventors in a globalised economy. Its staff of just under 2,800 at three locations – Munich, Jena and Berlin – provide services to inventors and companies. They implement federal innovation strategies and develop the national, European and international protection systems.

Bild 1: iStock.com/skynesher

Last updated: 26 June 2024