Benchmarking National - PRO INNO Europe

6 “What is the key?”
Campaign
Country: United Kingdom
Original title: “What is the key?”
Target group: All companies
Coverage: National
X (Pro-active) awareness raising measures/Public Relations
Information Provision Services
Category*: Training
Customized in-depth consulting and advisory services/
points
Finance & Legal Framework
*classification system defined by the Austrian Institute for SME Research
6.1 The “What is the key? (WITK) Campaign”
in a nutshell
The “What’s the key campaign?” of the UK patent office was chosen as a case study
for displaying elements of good practice with regard to campaigns and events
organised aiming at increasing IPR awareness of SMEs. Its success arises from the
fact that a number of measures have been taken to best meet demands of the
customers, i.e. the possibility to pose questions online in advance of the event(s)
and its proper quality assurance mechanisms (user satisfaction surveys and
evaluations which were used to gauge the impact of the campaign on the IPR
perceptions of the visiting companies). This, together with the regional focus and
involvement of external service-providing institutions, has ultimately led to a high
number of satisfied SMEs participating in the campaign.
“What is the key?”, abbreviated WITK in the following, is an IPR awareness raising
campaign organised and run by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) in
partnership with national and local authorities. Its objective is to offer an overview
of the law relating to IPRs, to show their importance to businesses and how they
are relevant to companies of any size. The purpose of the campaign is to make
businesses, especially SMEs, more aware of their intellectual assets and their
potential and to offer information and support on how to protect them.
WITK can be seen as an “information day”, set up as a two part IPR event: during
the first part, a short introduction to intellectual property rights covering patents,
trade marks, designs and copyright is given to inform the interested audience
about recent developments and available public support services. Depending on
where this event is presented, local service providers are also invited to talk about
their support services concerning legal protection of IPRs. The second part of such
an event is focusing on case studies which describe and illustrate how (local) entrepreneurs
benefited from using IPRs as means of protection of their intellectual
assets. Panel discussions and open question/answer sessions are offered at the end
of each event.
The programme is managed in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Patent
Agents (CIPA) and the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA), thus including also
relevant service providers from the private sector. Events to promote the programme
have been held all over the UK in co-operation with local partners such as Business
Link Offices and regional development agencies, which underlines the regional
character and dimension of WITK. The campaign is directed to businesses of any
size, but it puts particular emphasis on SMEs and their knowledge of Intellectual
Property Rights. The topics presented cover all phases of IPR usage. No restricttions
are in place for certain industries or technology fields.
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ANNEX I – CASE STUDIES