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Benchmarking National - PRO INNO Europe

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212<br />

BENCHMARKING NATIONAL AND REGIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SMES IN THE FIELD OF INTELLECTUAL AND INDUSTRIAL <strong>PRO</strong>PERTY<br />

As can be seen from Graph 112, VIVACE users employed a high number of formal<br />

IPR protection methods between 2003 and 2005. Regarding patents, half of the<br />

users filed for a patent or had a patent granted or valid. This large share seems not<br />

surprising considering the fact that funding for patent applications, especially for<br />

international ones, has been made available under the umbrella of the VIVACE<br />

programme. In addition, 44 % of the users stated that they used design patterns<br />

and/or utility models to protect their IP; 34 % registered trade marks. A considerable<br />

high number of users also employed informal protection methods, i.e. 52 % relied<br />

on trade secrets, 36 % tried to maintain a lead time advantage over competitors<br />

(see Graph 113).<br />

For VIVACE users, the costs of IP protection (for 20 % of high and for another 34 %<br />

of medium relevance) are the main barrier perceived for using IPR. External barriers<br />

towards the availability of support services are not considered to be a major obstacle.<br />

However, the lack of information, quality and accessibility of external services has at<br />

least medium relevance for around 20 % of the companies surveyed.<br />

User reach-out and satisfaction levels<br />

VIVACE used various information channels and sources to spread the information about<br />

the service offerings, including information offered on the internet (56 %) and/or<br />

presented at conferences (40 %). A considerable high share of users heard about the<br />

service also through the providing institution itself (38 %). Furthermore, and a little bit<br />

Graph 113 (Internal) barriers to using IP protection mechanisms, percentage<br />

of respondents*)<br />

%<br />

100<br />

80<br />

60<br />

40<br />

20<br />

0<br />

34<br />

20<br />

Costs of IP<br />

protection<br />

34 28 24 26 16<br />

Time to make<br />

IP protection<br />

work<br />

4 6 6 4<br />

Lack of info<br />

on IP<br />

protection<br />

*) multiple answers allowed. Source: User Survey, n = 50<br />

Lack of<br />

qualified<br />

personnel<br />

unclear<br />

cost/benefit of<br />

IP protection<br />

14 2<br />

10 8 8<br />

Awareness<br />

high relevance medium relevance<br />

IPR irrelevant<br />

in business<br />

context<br />

Graph 114 Information channels, by which users got to know about the<br />

service, percentage of respondents*)<br />

%<br />

70<br />

60<br />

50<br />

40<br />

30<br />

20<br />

10<br />

0<br />

56<br />

Internet<br />

24<br />

Newsletter<br />

40<br />

Information<br />

days/conferences<br />

10<br />

General<br />

newspaper<br />

38<br />

Professional<br />

journal<br />

*) multiple answers allowed. Source: User Survey, n = 50<br />

30<br />

Personal<br />

recommendation<br />

24<br />

Consultants<br />

6<br />

Commercial<br />

banks<br />

36<br />

Agency<br />

38<br />

VIVACE itself<br />

Organisational<br />

issues<br />

6<br />

Other

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