On Monday, 19 August 2024, the President of the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ms. Olya Dimitrova, held a working meeting with the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Ms. Iliana Ivanova. Their discussion focused on deepening cooperation between the two institutions to enhance the intellectual property (IP) capacity of Bulgarian innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and young people. The meeting occurred at a crucial time for EU institutions, as the political direction for the next European Commission is being shaped.
Ms. Dimitrova emphasised the importance of providing targeted support to smaller companies for protecting their innovations through industrial property rights such as patents, trade marks, and designs. The Patent Office actively contributes to implementing and promoting the support measures under the Ideas Powered for business Fund for SMEs, an initiative of the Commission, implemented jointly with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). From 2022 until now, over 1,900 Bulgarian SMEs have applied for such support.
Over the past two years, the Patent Office has organised targeted training sessions and events to raise awareness and knowledge of industrial property among approximately 500 representatives of SMEs and as many representatives of academic communities — students, young scientists, professors, pupils and teachers.
Ms. Ivanova thanked the Patent Office for its initiative to deepen dialogue and cooperation with the European Commission. She pointed out that one of the main priorities for the Commission's next mandate will be putting research and innovation at the heart of the European economy. The European Commissioner emphasised that IP protection plays a key role in advancing the EU single market. The European Commission will rely on the support of the Patent Office to promote the Commission’s good practices and principles for managing intellectual assets for effective knowledge valorisation among Bulgarian innovators and scientists.
The President of the Patent Office and the European Commissioner agreed that IP skills, as key competencies for lifelong learning, should be developed in young people from an early stage of education. With the entry into force on 1 August 2024 of the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act and the AI Pact adopted by the Commission in this regard, issues related to the risks and copyright of AI-created outputs are becoming increasingly relevant in education. The Patent Office expressed its commitment to partnering with the European Commission to provide Bulgarian teachers and students with comprehensive, up-to-date information on best practices for the ethical use of AI in industrial property.
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