ICC CoE and WIPO IP for Business join forces to empower innovation in entrepreneurship  

The partnership includes work to promote an IP self-assessment tool and to host workshops and seminars to train entrepreneurs on how to manage their creative assets, the results of their research and development, and their brands and trade secrets.

WIPO IP Diagnostics Tool

Developed by WIPO’s IP for Business team, the WIPO IP Diagnostics Tool is an intellectual property (IP) self-assessment tool. Developed as a practical instrument, the Tool will be continuously improved with input from the ICC Centre of Entrepreneurship and made available through its network.

By responding to a series of questions about the user’s business, the tool enables them to identify the IP assets they may have and receive a tailored response on how they may protect, manage and exploit these assets. Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, with more languages to come, the IP Diagnostics tool offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to access a simple, easy-to-understand report on IP, its implications for their business and how they might respond.

Speaking at the launch of the WIPO IP Diagnostics Tool during a joint ICC, WIPO and International Trade Centre (ITC) event, Gabriel Petrus, Head of the ICC Centre of Entrepreneurship said:

“The CoE was launched to support entrepreneurs, to support start-ups, and to support SMEs. This tool fits perfectly within that mission. With the launch of the WIPO IP Diagnostics tool, the CoE will work with WIPO to make this very valuable tool available at scale, in a coordinated effort with local chambers of commerce and leaders all across the supply chain.”

Marco Aleman, World Intellectual Property Organization Assistant Director General of the IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector said: “WIPO IP Diagnostics address the most common concerns of SMEs and startups in using the IP system. Additionally, it is easy to use and provides a first level understanding of the relevance of the IP system to the users’ specific context. Together with the ICC Centre of Entrepreneurship, we are working to bring WIPO IP Diagnostics to many SMEs and startups around the world and to support them in using IP in their business strategies.”

CoE workshops on intellectual property and innovation

As part of the partnership with WIPO, the ICC Centre of Entrepreneurship will host a series of workshops to discuss the needs of entrepreneurs and MSMEs, and provide practical guidance on how to understand and better use intellectual property protection. The workshops will also include a presentation of the diagnostics tool and practical cases to help entrepreneurs explore this important part of their business.

New dates for these workshops are available and open for enrollment while more are still to be confirmed:

1st Workshop for Latin America
Hosted by the Buenos Aires Centre of Entrepreneurship
24 February 2022

1st Workshop for MENA region
Hosted by the Beirut Centre of Entrepreneurship
April 2022

1st Workshop for Southeast Asia
To be confirmed

1st Workshop for Africa
To be confirmed

1st Workshop for Turkey
To be confirmed

1st Workshop for Eastern Europe
To be confirmed

Visit ICC’s Knowledge to Go site for more information or to register.

With increasing numbers of entrepreneurs and MSMEs operating in the digital economy and developing valuable brands with a global reach, it is crucial for businesses of all sizes to understand not only the protection of this valuable category of assets but also how to better manage and exploit them. Intangible assets now make up about 27% of income in global value chains, according to the OECD, and effective deployment and use of intangibles distinguishes top growers from low growers in the global economy, according to McKinsey. Innovation and intellectual property are an integral part of ICC’s work through the Centre of Entrepreneurship and our Global Policy Department and its ICC Global Intellectual Property Commission.