The Dublin IP and R&D Summit 4.0 is just over two weeks away, and we’re gearing up for what promises to be our most exciting edition yet!
To kick off the excitement, we had the opportunity to sit down with Joe Doyle, Intellectual Property Manager at Enterprise Ireland, our esteemed event partner. Joe shared his expert insights on some of the most pressing issues facing European IP owners and legal teams today.
Joe Doyle is the Intellectual Property Manager at Enterprise Ireland, where he serves as the central point of contact for all IP-related matters. With a focus on promoting IP as a strategic tool, Joe helps Irish enterprises leverage intellectual property for innovation management, competitive intelligence, and value creation. He provides expert guidance on navigating the complex IP protection landscape, including patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights, and trade secrets, ensuring that businesses can fully capture and protect the value of their creativity.
Take a look at his exclusive insights below.
What do you see as the most significant trends and challenges currently facing the Irish/European IP system?
The greatest challenge for the IP system, in today’s environment, is to remain responsive to the needs of innovators in an era characterised by rapid technological change and increasingly pressing global challenges, like climate change. As global intangible investments in R&D, software, data, etc. continue to outstrip tangible investments, the role of the IP system is becoming increasingly pivotal to enhancing economic competitiveness by fostering an environment that encourages innovation and creativity. As a result, constant reform of IP systems is necessary for economies to keep pace and maintain attractiveness for investment in innovation and new business development. However, the speed of technological change, fuelled by digitalisation, and the globalised nature of key challenges, e.g. climate change, present a range of complex challenges for IP policymakers to keep pace.
How have recent legislative changes in Europe impacted IP protection and enforcement, and what further changes would you advocate for?
Many economies and regions of the world are seeking to reform their IP systems in recognition of the emerging view of IP policy and administration as a tool for governments to advance broader policy objectives relating to innovation and economic development. For example, in 2020, the EU Commission published the EU Intellectual Property Action Plan aimed at supporting the EU's recovery and resilience post-COVID pandemic. The plan emphasises the importance of upgrading the EU's intellectual property system to promote smart use of intellectual property, ensure better enforcement, and advocate for a global level playing field. The action plan is a response to the need for effective protection and management of intellectual property in key industrial areas, with a focus on SMEs, and the transition to a greener and more digital economy.
The plan outlines key steps to improve the protection of IP, including the introduction of the EU Unitary Patent System; to boost the uptake of IP by SMEs; to facilitate the sharing of IP to increase technological uptake by industry; and to fight counterfeiting and improve the enforcement of IP rights. The plan equips national governments with frameworks to implement national IP strategies with the goal of upgrading local innovation ecosystems with IP policies that enable businesses to start, innovate, and grow.
Furthermore, transparent and efficient IP systems are essential to enable innovators to collaborate across borders and to share technological developments, as is necessary to solve complex global issues like climate change. Therefore, we need to see more urgency from governments to accelerate IP systems reform to enable global responses to global challenges.
In what ways do you think emerging technologies (such as AI, blockchain, etc.) are transforming the landscape of IP in Ireland/Europe?
Technologies like AI, blockchain, and 5G/6G are revolutionising the IP landscape. They raise questions about the protectability of innovation related to the technologies themselves and pose potential challenges and opportunities for IP administration and governance. For instance, AI's dual nature as a tool for both enhancing IP protection and facilitating infringement exemplifies the complex implications of these technologies.
However, the rapid transition to digitalisation across all industries has also brought the IP system to the fore as a key enabler of the disrupting power of these technologies. IP provides a legal framework for protecting the rights of creators and inventors, ensuring they can reap the benefits of their work. For startups and SMEs, this protection is crucial for motivating the investment of time, resources, and capital into research and development (R&D), which is the bedrock of technological advancement and economic growth. IP assets help them to crystallise the value they bring as new market entrants with disruptive technologies, thereby maximising their potential to raise investment and compete with market incumbents.
How do you believe the IP framework in Ireland/Europe supports or hinders innovation and economic growth, especially for startups and SMEs?
A robust IP system is instrumental in increasing the market value of businesses, especially startups and SMEs, by turning intangible assets into exclusive rights and creating a competitive edge. It also aids in capitalising on IP assets through licensing, which can be a significant source of revenue and a way to expand into new markets. Moreover, IP rights are essential for marketing and branding strategies, helping businesses to establish a unique identity and consumer trust. In the global economy, a strong IP system can attract foreign direct investment (FDI), as it assures investors of the protection of their intellectual assets. Additionally, IP rights like patents and trademarks can be leveraged for strategic business alliances and partnerships, further driving economic competitiveness. Overall, the IP system is a cornerstone of a knowledge-based economy, where intangible assets increasingly contribute to the value and differentiation of products and services, and even economies in a global marketplace for innovation.
What are your predictions for the future of the IP market in Ireland/Europe over the next five to ten years, and what key factors will drive these changes?
The IP system in Europe will continue to play an increasingly crucial role in fostering innovation and economic growth across the single market. The trend toward harmonised EU IP rules will continue with the aim to boost the reputation and performance of the EU as a leading region for innovation, investment, and competitiveness. As the new Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court system becomes embedded in the EU innovation ecosystem, we see significant benefits for startups and SMEs in particular. IP will continue to be a driver for investment in startups and SMEs, and the new unitary system should be very attractive to these early-stage businesses as it will enable them to develop high-value IP rights more efficiently.
However, the need for practical IP support frameworks aimed at raising the IP awareness and literacy of startups and SMEs remains a priority. The current lack of IP management capability in these companies is a barrier to realising their growth potential and the resultant return to the wider economy. As well as providing them with access to a well-functioning and cost-effective IP system, companies with high growth potential require targeted supports to enable them to protect their IP from an early stage, so that they can achieve growth in the future.
What are the most pressing issues you face in patent prosecution and litigation within the Irish and European markets, and how do you address them?
The most pressing issues reported by startups and SMEs are the perceived high cost and complexity of patent prosecution and litigation. These issues lead many early-stage companies to postpone IP protection until sometime in the future when they may have the necessary resources. Unfortunately, this approach often leads to higher costs to the business rather than avoiding them, because it causes IP issues to be stored up to emerge as problems in the future that can be expensive or even impossible to resolve at that time.
So, the best approach to minimising IP cost and risk is to support companies to develop an appropriate IP strategy for the business as early as possible, including protecting key IP assets often long before market launch. This is challenging as it requires a shift in mindset for many company leaders and the commitment of scarce resources to IP well before they generate any revenue. Therefore, the way to address issues of IP cost and risk is to provide targeted IP support to companies with high-growth potential as early as possible. Furthermore, stakeholders in the ecosystem, including investors, shareholders, advisors, accelerators, etc., must encourage early-stage companies to address IP issues as early as possible. This can be done by including a budget for IP in investments, providing IP training, building IP expertise into the support ecosystem, providing IP-backed finance options, and so on.
In short, an intangibles-led world demands a shift in mindset away from the principles and practices that were appropriate when tangible assets dominated. It requires upskilling across all segments of the economy and reinventing how we invest in innovation and enterprise development. In this changed environment, the IP system takes on a whole new level of importance as a meta-institution that underpins the entire global innovation ecosystem. The companies and economies that realise this and adapt accordingly will emerge as the innovation leaders.
Joe Doyle will be taking the stage throughout the Dublin IP and R&D Summit on September 4th & 5th, serving as our Chair and a key speaker in multiple sessions. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn directly from an industry leader and connect with other game-changers.
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