Benchmarking National - PRO INNO Europe

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BENCHMARKING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SMES IN THE FIELD OF INTELLECTUAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
(fast track/express patent database search services with coverage, however, also of
non-patent literature) was especially developed against this background and is thus
a tool particularly useful for SMEs.
Serv.ip provides its services also to interested parties on an international basis. The
service seems to pay more attention to formal IPR protection methods, demonstrated
by the patent and trademark search as core of the service offerings and through
the linkages of serv.ip to the Austrian PO. No explicit provisions are made for
particular business sectors, though many clients seem to come from certain
technology fields such as pharmacy, chemistry, computer sciences and
electronics.
Background and resources
Founded in 1994, the core service of serv.ip, personalised patent and trade mark
searches, is operated by around 40 employees consisting of experts from diverse
backgrounds trained in IPR with particular emphasis on patents, trademarks,
designs, and legal aspects related to this instruments; four employees are part-time
involved in the organisation of the “ideas.well. protected” campaign. If necessary,
serv.ip can draw on about 60 freelance staff. The total budget allocated for serv.ip
amounts to around € 3.5 mio p.a.
Although serv.ip is managed independently, the service is said to work in close
collaboration with the Austrian PO and other institutions with a certain responsibiltiy
for IPR, i.e. regional chambers of commerce, industrial associations, and technology
centres as well as with the Patent Attorneys Association. Noteworthy is also the
close geographical proximity to the Patent Office (both organisations reside in the
same building) which is seen as an asset due to achievable synergy effects.
Within the scope of the roadshow ideas.well.protected, serv.ip collaborates with a
number of stakeholders in the Austrian innovation system. Among others, partners
are national funding agencies (e.g., the Austria Wirtschafts Service GesmbH (aws)),
ministries or regional funding agencies. Representatives of these organisations,
most of them experienced experts in law, management and commercialisation, are
to hold presentations at the roadshow regarding the importance of IPR and how
their offerings can e.g. interlink with those of serv.ip.
Modes of operation
Patent database searches
serv.ip is designed to be an entry point for enterprises, individual inventors or other
parties interested to learn about the novelty and state of art of applications for
registering subjects, to evaluate the current market situation and to estimate future
market developments. The rationale to focus on patent database searches is
primarily seen in avoidance of double research costs: According to serv.ip estimates,
€ 150 mio. are saved each year in terms of redundant R&D.
The patent search offered by serv.ip is available in two versions:
� tailor-made searches (normal searches); and
� a standardised product called “express searches” (“Expressrecherchen”).
Tailor-made searches are especially designed for a particular user. The user can
decide on a specific search strategy conducted in selected patent databases and/or
libraries (i.e., the scope of the search). Since September 2004, serv.ip offers also a
faster and much more targeted search method: the “express search”. Using this
standardised product, the research focuses on the state of the art in the specified
field or area providing an overview of the current (technical) situation, a market
outlook and future potential in a comprehensive manner. The output of the
product is a standardised report indicating the findings along the topics mentioned
before. Using the express search product, the results are made available within four
weeks at the latest and cost either € 1,320.- (simple express search results without
documented expert opinion) or € 1,716 (with documented expert opinion)
(Austrian VAT included).