MSMEs urged to use Intellectual Property assets for growth

Chief technical director in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Stephen Wedderburn (2nd right), in dialogue with (from left) counsellor, Small and Medium- Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Entrepreneurship Support Division, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, Anil Sinha; chief executive officer, Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), Valrie Veira; and executive director, Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, Lilyclaire Bellamy. Occasion was the National Workshop on the Effective Management of Intellectual Property Assets for SMEs, held at the JBDC’s Marcus Garvey Drive offices, on Tuesday, June 13, 2017.

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr. Stephen Wedderburn, has urged MSMES to use IP assets for growth and development. Mr. Wedderburn says that Jamaica’s growth policies and plans, consistently identify the Small Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) using IP assets as engines of growth. This, he says, has allowed them to gain competitive advantage, not only in fostering growth-oriented businesses and an investment climate, but also in promoting the use of IP as a tool for business growth and development.
He disclosed that IP protection is becoming an essential commodity in today’s world, and that providing an environment for the protection of intellectual property is necessary for commercialization and bringing new creative products to market.

Mr. Wedderburn was speaking at a National Workshop on Effective Management of Intellectual Property Assets for SMEs, hosted by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), at the JBDC’s Incubator and Resource Centre, Marcus Garvey Drive, on Tuesday, June 13.

According to the Chief Technical Director, “the use of Intellectual Property assets to protect rights enables SMEs to become more competitive through technological gains. And, if innovation is to play a part in enhancing the competitiveness of this sector, IP has a critical role to play in the process”.

“IP adds value at every stage of the value chain from creative/innovative idea to putting new, better and inexpensive products/services into the market, making IP protection and management an inevitable and essential ingredient for creating competitive advantage and essential corporate value for SMEs in the modern knowledge-based economy”, he noted.
He urged the participants of the workshop to look after their intellectual property assets, not only as legal assets, but also as financial instruments.
The three-day workshop runs from June 13-15, and features presentations from a host of international and local speakers. Its aim is to assist participants in grasping the complex topic of IP, equipping them with the latest methods and developments in IP management and the advantages to be derived by their businesses.

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