site.btaPatent Office Deepens Cooperation with European Commission to Develop IP Capacity of Bulgarian Innovators, Young People

President of the Bulgarian Patent Office (BPO) Olya Dimitrova held a working meeting with the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Iliana Ivanova, the Patent Office said on Wednesday. The focus of the talks, which took place on August 19, was on deepening cooperation between the two institutions to develop the intellectual property capacity of both Bulgarian innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and young people. The meeting took place at a key moment for the EU institutions, in which the political direction of the next European Commission is being set, the release said.  

Dimitrova identified as an important priority for the BPO the provision of additional targeted support for small companies in protecting the innovations they generate through industrial property rights, including patents, trademarks and designs.  The Patent Office is actively involved in the implementation and promotion of support measures under the SME Fund, a Commission initiative implemented jointly with the EU Intellectual Property Office. Since 2022, more than 1,900 Bulgarian SMEs have applied for such support. 

Over the last two years, the BPO has organized targeted training and awareness-raising events in the field of industrial property among approximately 500 representatives of SMEs and an additional number of representatives of academic communities - students, young scientists, lecturers, etc. 

Commissioner Ivanova expressed her gratitude to the BPO for its initiative to deepen the dialogue and cooperation with the EC. She pointed out that one of the main priorities for the next term of the Commission will be to put research and innovation at the heart of the European economy. According to the Commissioner, the protection of intellectual property has a key role to play in deepening the development of the single market. The EC will rely on the support of the Patent Office to promote among Bulgarian innovators and scientists good practices and principles for the management of intellectual assets in order to use knowledge effectively.

The BPO President and the Commissioner concurred that skills related to intellectual property, as key competences for lifelong learning, should be developed in young people at an early stage of their education, the Patent Office said. With the entry into force on August 1 of the European Artificial Intelligence (AI) legislation and the AI Pact adopted by the European Commission in this regard, issues related to the risks and copyrights of objects created through the use of these technologies are becoming increasingly relevant in education. The BPO declares its readiness to work in partnership with the European Commission to provide Bulgarian teachers and students with the most complete and up-to-date information on best practices for the ethical use of AI in the context of industrial property.