IP/C/W/678  
 
27 May 2021  
(21-4408) Page: 1/3 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION:  
SUMMARY ON THE 2020 THEME – "MAKING MICRO SMALL AND MEDIUM -SIZED 
ENTERPRISES (MSMES) COMPETITIVE THROUGH IP AND INNOVATION " 
COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA, CANADA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, JAPAN, SWITZERLAND, 
THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU  AND THE 
UNITED STATES  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.  The WTO TRIPs Council discussed the topic of "Making MSMEs Competitive through Intellectual 
Property (IP) and Innovation " throughout 2020 and in the first part of 2021. This submission 
highlights examples provided during the discussions and reiterates how MSMEs  — which play a 
crucial role in the global economy as key drivers of innovation, employmen t, growth, and trade — 
can make effective use of intellectual property rights (IPRs) to build their businesses. Under this 
theme, delegations have exchanged experiences related to trademark protection outreach and the 
use of the trademark system for MSMEs;  the development of IP management strategies for MSMEs, 
including combinations of IPRs, such as trade secrets, patents, and industrial designs; and how 
MSMEs can leverage IP to innovate, partner, and commercialize green technology.  
2  MAKING MSMES COMPETITIVE  THROUGH TRADEMARKS  
2.  Trademarks are the most widespread form of registered IP rights, offer benefits such as product 
distinction  and protection against unfair competition, and are a critical element of branding and 
marketing. Although trademark applications  tend to be in a growth pattern worldwide, it was noted 
that many MSMEs still have not take n steps to apply for trademark protection because they lacked 
awareness and understanding of trademark protection, they believed filing procedures would be too 
compl icated or costly, they lacked financial or human resources to support filing for trademark 
protection, or in some cases because a business did not understand it had a brand, reputation, or 
innovation to protect.  
3.  Several Members shared information about nat ional initiatives and best practices that their 
governments and IP offices have employed to build the awareness of MSMEs and provide them with 
tools to protect their trademarks and maximize their commercial potential in the global marketplace.  
A number of national IP offices have created online IP "toolboxes " or contact touchpoints for 
entrepreneurs and MSMEs, which offer a range of resources such as factsheets, trademark search 
and application guides, videos, or even in -person assistance, all customized to  address the unique 
challenges and needs of MSMEs. Several Members also described their government 's initiatives to 
provide financial support and mentorship programs to MSMEs, which may have limited funding 
resources for IP registration activities, or effo rts to improve efficiencies in national trademark filing 
systems to keep costs low and accessible.  
3  MAKING MSMES COMPETITIVE THROUGH INCLUSIVE PROTECTION OF VARIOUS IPR  
4.  Valuable IP portfolios may include various types of IP such as patents, designs, copyri ght, 
trademarks, and trade secrets. However, MSMEs often lack the awareness and understanding of how 
to develop their businesses through building and achieving a high -quality multi -layered IP portfolio 
composed of various types of IP.  Governments are increasingly considering how to more effectively 
support MSMEs in expanding their operations through the strategic growth and diversification of 
their IP assets. Several Members highlighted programs and initiatives offered by their national  IP IP/C/W/678  
 
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  offices designed to assist individual inventors and MSMEs with protecting and commercializing their 
inventions, including through fee discount policies for small and micro entities for IP  registration  
applications; a program me for cross -sectional "collective examination for IP portfolios " to grant 
multiple IP rights in a timely and coordinated basis; and development of "IP for business " audit and 
assessment tools and other IP pre -diagnostic services to help enterprises identify, understand, 
evaluate, an d manage their IP and related assets in a more strategic manner and in the context of 
their specific  business planning.  
5.  Member s also noted their efforts to address emerging areas where MSMEs need support in order 
to optimize their IP ownership, including providing education to MSMEs regarding IP -financing 
strategies and the associated considerations relevant to the types of IP within their portfolio. Several 
Members highlighted programs offering free or subsidized advisory services carried out by IP 
profes sionals to guide and advise individual MSMEs in important areas such as patent searches, 
application drafting and filing, IP management, commercialization opportunities including export 
assistance, and branding/marketing. It was also noted that the ability  to effectively enforce IP rights 
is integral to the value of those rights, and several Member s are exploring how to assist MSMEs, 
which may not have financial or legal resources  to address infringement, with alternative means for 
solving legal disputes su ch as through arbitration and mediation services designed for MSMEs. 
Similarly, Members also noted a possible future trend of insurance policies  for legal expenses that 
may be incurred during IP infringement legal proceedings ; this may be interesting  for MSMEs and 
others with lean resources.  
4  SUPPORTING MSMES, LDCS/LMICS, AND GREEN TECHNOLOGY  
6.  Governments are increasingly building green tech innovation into national strategic planning, 
including by establishing program mes and  tools that aim to encourage and reward green inventions 
and their diffusion. A number of Members noted action plans , task forces, and funding . mechanisms  
they have established that are focused on accelerating investments in R&D in the green tech sector 
and on incentivizing scientists, in ventors, and entrepreneurs to push forward work on technologies 
to meet global climate and other humanitarian challenges.  
7.  MSMEs and start -ups provide critical and innovative solutions to real -world energy and climate 
challenges but often face challenges wi th strategic use of IP during the early phases of product 
development. Several Member s shared their national IP offices ' positive experiences with providing 
personalized assistance with patent searches for green tech MSME inventors as well as prioritizing 
or accelerating application proceedings for patent applications directed toward green technologies.  
Members also discussed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) GREEN platform  and 
its role in facilitating the development and dissemination of green technologies by promoting 
matchmaking between environmentally sustainable technology providers and seekers. Government 
agencies, industry groups, companies, and universities have the opportunity to be partners in WIPO 
GREEN, and MSMEs participating i n WIPO GREEN can benefit from new opportunities for partnership 
through licensing, collaboration, joint ventures, and sale.  
8.  During the Friends of IP and Innovation -organized side event entitled "Supporting MSMEs, 
LDCs/LMICs, and Green Technology " held virtually on the margins of the March 2021 TRIPs Council 
meeting, Members and participants heard from expert panelists representing green tech start -ups, 
the United Kingdom's IP office, the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), which acts as 
a knowledge broker for climate related technology, and two experts from the World Intellectual 
Property Organization (WIPO) who support MSMEs in their efforts to commercialize their green tech 
innovations and to build their businesses and use IP to their b est advantage.  In addressing the two 
agenda items – "Improving MSMEs Use of the IP System " and "LDC/LMIC: Case Studies and 
Narratives ", the speakers highlighted the following key messages:  
a. Although there is a growing interest among green innovators in looking at the global IP 
system to support their businesses, the type of support provided by institutions should be 
customized for MSMEs as their needs will be quite different than those of large companies.  
Green tech start-ups, like other st art-ups, must be agile and fast, and the patent application 
and granting process is deliberative and formal . IP support institutions should consider  and 
explore  how to best accommodate and serve start -ups. 
b. There is a crucial role for international organiza tions like WIPO and national IPOs and other 
support institutions to help build a bridge between green innovator MSMEs and their ability IP/C/W/678  
 
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  to efficiently use the IP infrastructure to add value to their business. Similarly, as noted by 
the Director of the CTCN , partnerships are key to green tech diffusion, but MSMEs need 
support and technical assistance in how to engage in knowledge sharing and technology 
transfer, to enhance their ability to utilize and leverage the incentive framework.  
c. The panelist from a national IP office highlighted his office 's efforts to support green tech 
businesses through the establishment of specialized and strategic IP support services such 
as outreach, business asset assessment, risk mitigation, expedited patent review for 
qualifyin g green tech inventions, and even dispute resolution assistance.  
d. Several start-up panelists also discussed the importance of IP in the green tech space for 
attracting financial investment and support and subsequently establishing essential 
partnerships and  licensing agreements. The start-up panelists also noted that, in their 
experience, having an IP portfolio increases the value of their start -ups for investors, who 
are looking for something tangible that gives that start -up a distinction and  advantage ove r 
other potential investments.  
9.  The presentations and discussions were important to help frame how IP protection can contribute 
to the efforts of MSMEs and other businesses in the green tech area to develop and commercialize 
their innovations, and also to s hed light on the real -world IP -related challenges and needs 
experienced by MSMEs regardless of their location. A resource guide was provided at the end of the 
event o n the areas of IP outreach for MSMEs/SMEs and services to help increase the access and use  
of green tech. It was compiled in cooperation with WIPO, WTO and CTCN  (annexed to the 
submission).  
10.  The 2020/21 theme explorin g how Members  can contribute toward "Making MSMEs Competitive 
through IP and Innovation " provided useful background and experience -sharing on the variety of 
policies and activities  currently employed by governments, and ideas for what policymakers could 
be doing differently to  better enable MSMEs in  optimizing their use of the IP and innovatio n system.  
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