Celebrating the 10 Years of the European IP Helpdesk Ambassadors and their partnership with the Enterprise Europe Network

10 years ago, the European IP Helpdesk launched a unique partnership with the Enterprise European Network (EEN) to enhance intellectual property (IP) awareness and support across Europe. With more than 40 IP experts from different EEN member organisations in all European Member States, the European IP Helpdesk Ambassador scheme has become a cornerstone of the European IP Helpdesk’s outreach activities. It plays a crucial role in assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with their international endeavours by providing valuable resources, guidance, and networking opportunities.

In order to celebrate  the 10^th anniversary of the scheme and paying tribute to the European IP Helpdesk Ambassadors’ dedication, the team came together in Brussels on 9 November 2023 for a joint meeting and training event. The programme featured an overview of the latest Knowledge Valorisation activities of DG Research & Innovation, an update from the European Innovation Council (EIC) programme, as well as a presentation on major outcomes of the Horizon IP Scan service, a pilot initiative of the European Commission aimed at helping SMEs involved in EU-funded projects, which comes to an end in December.

The successful and wide-ranging cooperation between the European IP Helpdesk and the Enterprise Europe Network has become a true success story – not only for the European IP Helpdesk, EEN, EC or EISMEA but above all for our clients: the 25 million SMEs in the European Union-receiving tailor-made services to help them manage their intellectual assets. This success and sustained collaboration have been possible because we share the same vision and objectives, namely to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in all EU Member States.

said Jörg Scherer, the coordinator of the European IP Helpdesk, underlining the significance of this long-lasting and valuable partnership.

The celebrations in the afternoon were preceded by the European IP Helpdesk’s Annual Stakeholder Meeting, welcoming representatives of different units of the European Commission, the European Patent Office and the International IP SME Helpdesks. This year’s meeting was organised with the Impact Licensing Initiative (ILI) to address a timely and pressing question: How can we unlock the potential of innovation ecosystems for enhanced societal value creation? The Impact Licensing Initiative serves as a catalyst for technology owners to generate significant impact at scale on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is based on the idea that many technologies remain underutilised despite their potential to address current and future global societal challenges.

Alongside talks by ILI experts explaining the overall concept behind social impact licensing, the audience heard about ways to re-think the data sharing from the non-profit organisation “The Data Tank” and gained insights into the work and voluntary licensing model of the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), a United Nations-backed public health organisation.