Slaids 1

1
Patents in Latvia XXI Cenutry Guntis
Ramans Latvian Patent Office Vilnius, 13.09.2007
2
Patents in Latvia XXI Century

• Where we are?

• Do we have influence from global changes in
  patent system?

• What we do?

• What should we do?

3
Where we are? Number of applications per year
filed in LPO
4
Where we are? Patent life time
5
Where we are?
Average duration of patents - 6 years Licensing
activity - 150 in 15 years Court cases - 18 in
15 years
6
Where we are? Resident filings per million
Population in FI and LV
114 / 1813 12 / 1863 9 / 1678
7
Where we are?
8
Improve or stand?
Economic growth is fundamental for the welfare
of modern society, is determined by a number of
factors, among which enterprise, competitiveness
and innovation are those most important.
Patents are a driving force for promoting
innovation, growth and competitiveness. The
more inventions, the more inventors the more
value generated through inventions mean that more
value can be extracted from patent protection.
9
Improve or stand?
The less developed countries have a fundamental
interest in unrestricted access to technology
under the most favourable possible conditions. It
is not surprising that the history of economic
development reveals that no country has enjoyed
substantial benefits as a result of patent
protection for inventions. On the contrary, it is
well known that the very absence of modern patent
system, i.e. unrestricted copying of foreign
inventions, allowed Japan, Korea and Taiwan to
achieve economic success"1. 1 Richard
Gerster, "Patents and Development, Lessons Learnt
from the Economic History of Switherland, TWN,
2001, p.6.
10
Improve or stand?
From the interview with Ms Alison Brimelow,
President of the EPO "The larger the financial
resources of a company are, the easier it is for
them to participate in the game. I am seriously
worried about the consequences for SMEs". That
is very important for us because 99.5 of our
enterprises are SMEs.
11
Do we feel influence of processes which occur
in the world or Europe?

• We feel
• - Prices for medicines
• Open Source Software supporters
• We do not feel
• Patent pools
• Crosslicensing
• Patent trolls.

12
What are we doing?
Basic Approaches for the IP Protection and
Requirements for the years 2007 2012 -
increase the level of protection of innovations
- reduce the infringements of IP - promote the
awareness of society about IP Innovation support
centres were established in main universities of
Latvia with the assistance of the Ministry of
Economics.
13
What sould we do in future?

• Patent Office Strategic plan for years 2008
  2012
• - the guide and support of enterprises (SME) to
  strengthen IP protection
• the training and other services to enterprises
  and universities which would help them solve the
  problems and difficulties arising in obtaining IP
  protection
• improve and facilitate access to information
• -improve our administrative procedures such as
  introducing online filing (with assistance of the
  EPO) and online access to the legal status
  information of patents.

14
Thank you for your attention!